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Tracking Inspections: 18 DECEMBER 2002

At total of 70 inspectors visited 12 sites as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors visited the Specialized Institute for Engineering Industries (SIEI) in Baghdad, according to an Iraqi Foreign Ministry statement. Three inspectors verified the Institute's semiannual report and checked the seal on one machine, before moving to the Al-Fida State Company, which specializes in hydraulics, according to the Foreign Ministry. It is part of the Military Industrialization Organization (MIO). After checking the machines and touring the company, the inspectors visited the "Industrial Motor" site, belonging to the Ministry of Industry and Minerals located in the Dora area of Baghdad, where inspectors toured the plant and inspected machinery. UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) did not provide any details on inspection activities at the above-mentioned sites.

A second group of 15 inspectors continued work in Mosul, visiting the Saddam Dam and inspecting a water-storage station and buildings on the site. Inspectors then proceeded to the Al-Jazeera Irrigation Project of the Ministry of Irrigation, where they reviewed pumping operations. Finally, inspectors visited the Al-Rammah "project" belonging to the MIO, the ministry stated, and inquired about declared materials and took "various samples," the ministry reported. Inspectors also went to the Al-Ra'ekiya gas plant. Radiological surveys were conducted at every site inspected in Mosul, the Foreign Ministry reported.

A team of four UNMOVIC inspectors visited the Al-Saqlawya destruction dump at Aqarqouf, north of Baghdad, where they "inspected the drainage for two kilometers," the ministry reported. UNMOVIC described the site as a "former destruction area for gyroscope parts," and added that 3.5 kilometers along each side of the river were inspected.

The Foreign Ministry reported that a second group of six inspectors visited a "military site" where "destroyed missiles" are stored. Inspectors checked warehouses and photographed the "sheds and roofed galleries" that store destroyed weapons. The ministry's statement added that inspectors "looked into the storage [sites] there, despite [the fact that] these [destroyed weapons] remains were under monitoring by UNSCOM." UNMOVIC stated that the site visited was the former Taji Project 144, located 50 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, where "prohibited missile items were previously excavated and are now stored."

A team of 12 chemical inspectors visited the Modern Paints Company in Al-Za'afrania, on the southern outskirts of Baghdad. The company belongs to a joint public/private sector, according to the ministry, and manufactures "all kinds of paints." UNMOVIC noted that this former inspection site was not listed on the most recent Iraqi declaration of sites, and added, "The site comprises several production buildings, stores and supporting facilities, and mainly uses imported chemicals."

A team of 18 chemical, biological, and missile inspectors returned to the Nasr State Company for Mechanical Industries that is 30 kilometers north of Baghdad. Inspectors toured workshops "specialized in the manufacture of strips, frames and oil tanks" as well as the foundry and the molds. Inspectors checked the tagged equipment, and photographed all facilities. UNMOVIC reported that the site contains three plants: foundry, molds, and steel structures, adding, "The site is engaged in the production of steel structures, forging casts, and molds and fixtures for different industrial uses."

A team of 12 biological inspectors visited the departments of biological sciences, chemistry and mechanical engineering at Mosul University, where it checked the Iraqi declarations and verified the tagged and marked equipment. Inspectors took two bacterial samples from one lab. Inspectors then went to the Mosul Yeast Factory, which is an affiliate of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, to check and verify declarations.

Copyright (c) 2003. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org