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Tracking Inspections: 11 January 2003

A total of 78 inspectors visited eight sites on 11 January. A team of four International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors returned to the Al-Qa'qa State Company (owned by Iraq's Military Industrial Organization) located 60 kilometers south of Baghdad. Inspectors questioned a company representative, who had submitted a final budget for the purchase of HMX. Inspectors also went to a "preparation site of the Al-Qa'qa detonator, took samples from the site's floor, photographed the mixer, visited the Al-Qa'ed Plant, inspected and photographed the stored HMX," the Iraqi Foreign Ministry stated.

A team of four IAEA inspectors went to the Saddam State Company in Al-Amiriyat Al-Falluja, 70 kilometers west of Baghdad. Inspectors "took prints of the programmed machines at the Ibn al-Haytham Plant (an affiliate of the Saddam State Company) and also from the remaining machines at the plant, the internal walls, the tables and the closets," the ministry reported.

The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) stated, "The Saddam GE plant has an engineering machine tools capability and the Qa'qa plant produces civilian as well as military explosives."

A team of nine chemical inspectors visited Takrit University in Takrit, 200 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, where they questioned the university president about changes at the university since 1998, as well as the number of colleges and departments, and their locations. Inspectors also requested a list of the names of college deans and heads of the chemistry departments and other personnel. Inspectors visited the College of Medicine; College of Education for Girls and its Chemistry Department; the College of Agriculture; the Food Industry Department; the Department of Livestock; the College of Sciences and the College of Education's chemistry departments, the Foreign Ministry reported. Inspectors took samples from furnaces during their inspections. UNMOVIC did not provide details on this inspection.

A team of 20 missile inspectors returned to the Ibn Sina State Company, located 40 kilometers north of Baghdad. Inspectors questioned the general manager on the company's activities and its role in missile-support activity, the ministry stated. Inspectors also checked the research, production, and fuel inspection buildings. UNMOVIC stated that inspectors at this site, also known as Tarmiyah, inspected several buildings to verify equipment and raw materials "used in chemical processes linked to missile activities, such as the production of ammonium perchlorate for solid propellants and the regeneration oxidizer and fuel used in liquid propulsion."

Two biological inspectors returned to the Al-Dabash Warehouses of the State Company for Marketing Drugs and Medical Appliances in order to remove the tags from refrigerator doors (see inspection report for 10 January). The inspectors were later joined by five more inspectors who questioned the manager on suppliers and users of the warehouses and "refrigerating vehicles used in distribution," according to the Foreign Ministry.

A team of 12 biological inspectors returned for a second consecutive day to the State Company for Marketing Drugs and Medical Appliances, located in the Al-'Adl Quarter of Baghdad. Inspectors questioned the manager about the site's activities, medicines, and diagnostic equipment there and whether or not vaccines are imported and distributed from the site, as well as the names of key officials and changes at the site since 1998, the ministry noted.

UNMOVIC did not comment on the biological inspections at either site.

A joint group of 14 UNMOVIC inspectors visited the Mosul Dairy Plant, which belongs to the Ministry of Industry and Metals. Inspectors asked the plant manager about personnel and their educational backgrounds, as well as about equipment imported since 1998. They also inquired as to whether the plant owns any refrigerated vehicles and whether powder is manufactured at the plant, according to the Foreign Ministry. Inspectors checked tagged equipment and toured the facilities. UNMOVIC didn't provide any additional commentary in its briefing.

Another joint team of eight inspectors flew in two helicopters from the Al-Rashid Airport to the K3 pumping station, which the ministry says is affiliated with the North Oil Company in Hudaythah. Inspectors asked to see the station's airport, where they inspected the tarmac and roads around the tarmac. The station is located 300 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, according to UNMOVIC, which stated inspectors "inspected an airfield, which is currently not operating as an airfield."

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