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Tracking Inspections: 31 January 2003

Ten chemical inspectors visited the Agricultural Supplies Company belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture and located in Al-Waziriyah, Baghdad. Inspectors checked storage areas and archives and inquired about the quantities of stocks, the quantities sold, and revenues obtained from plant herbicides and insecticides, according to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry. The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) noted in its daily briefing that the company is "involved in receiving and distributing agricultural chemicals."

A group of four missile inspectors went to the 7 Nisan Company -- owned by Iraq's Military Industrial Organization (MIO) -- located 40 kilometers east of Baghdad. Inspectors "demanded" fuse designs for the Al-Fatah missile and also "demanded" access to storage areas located outside the "main fence of the company," the Foreign Ministry stated. It was denied access, however, because there apparently was not anyone available at the site with keys, since it was Friday (holy day). UNMOVIC stated that the company is a factory that produces a "wide range of shell bodies and fuses for rockets." UNMOVIC stated that inspectors obtained clarifications on the "present status of Al-Fatah research and development activities, among other things."

The Foreign Ministry noted that a team of six biological inspectors traveling in two helicopters surveyed several areas from the air, including: an agricultural airport belonging to the Plant Protection State Corporation near Khan Bani Sa'd; the area around Tuwaythah (reportedly photographed and videotaped) belonging to the Iraqi Atomic Energy Agency; the Al-Salman Pak site (photographed and videotaped) known as the former Technical Research Center; and Falluja I and III belonging to the Al-Tariq State Company (MIO) (photographed the "intersection" of the Tigris River and Tharthar Lake. UNMOVIC stated that inspectors surveyed Falluja II not Falluja I from the air, as well as the Agricultural Biological Research Center, Tuwaythah, and "former biological research facilities" at Salman Pak.

A joint inspection team of 11 inspectors went to Al-Yarmouk State Company in Abu Gharib. They questioned an unnamed individual at the site on the company's activities, proprietorship, and activities since 1998, as well as the kinds of ammunition produced by the company. Inspectors also toured all facilities, including equipment stores, the chemical laboratory, a gunpowder storage area, a shooting range, factories, and an information center, according to the Foreign Ministry. UNMOVIC stated that this inspection took place at the Abu Gharib Ammunition Factory.

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