Tracking Inspections in Iraq

RFE/L

8 MARCH 2003

      An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection team visited the Salah Al-Din State Company, an affiliate of the Iraqi Military Industrialization Organization (MIO). The inspectors asked about the company's activities, its production, its personnel, and its future plans before touring the production facilities and administrative departments, the Foreign Ministry reported. The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) confirmed the inspection and added that the company produces military electronic equipment in the Al-Dawr District, approximately 140 kilometers northwest of Baghdad.
      A second IAEA inspection team went to the First Taji Camp and to "other military units" to conduct a radiation survey using hand-held and car-borne detection devices, according to the Foreign Ministry. UNMOVIC reported that a radiation survey was performed 30 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, but it did not provide details on the exact location.
      A third IAEA team of inspectors went to the Tabuk State Company, where the inspectors asked company officials about the company's activities, its factories, and their production capabilities, the Foreign Ministry stated.
      The same IAEA inspection team also went to the Al-Mutasim Factory belonging to the Al-Rashid State Company, where the inspectors examined the destroyed buildings at the site, according to the Foreign Ministry.
      The team then proceeded to the Al-Quds State Company (MIO-affiliated) to inquire about the activities of the company's "centers" and the laboratories of each center, the Foreign Ministry noted.
      UNMOVIC stated that an IAEA inspection team visited "a military factory being built by the Sa'd State Company," as well as a sites related to "high explosives" in the same area.
      An UNMOVIC missile inspection team returned to the Al-Sumud Factory, which is an affiliate of the Al-Karamah State Company, to supervise the destruction process of Al-Sumud 2 missiles and their components, the Foreign Ministry reported. "Tools and special equipment to produce the Al-Sumud 2 engine were destroyed," UNMOVIC reported.
      The team then proceeded to the Al-Taji Technical Battalion, where the inspectors joined another missile inspection team that was supervising the ongoing Al-Sumud 2 missile destruction at that site, according to the Foreign Ministry. UNMOVIC stated that missile inspectors supervised the destruction of six Al-Sumud 2 missiles, "three of which contained a warhead each." UNMOVIC added that "this brings to 40 the total number of Al-Sumud 2 missiles destroyed to date."
      A third inspection team went to the Al-Qa'qa State Company to verify whether there were any Al-Sumud 2 warheads at the site that had not already been tagged by UN inspectors, the Foreign Ministry noted. UNMOVIC reported that inspectors verified that warheads were being emptied. The inspectors also tagged warheads.
      A chemical inspection team also went to Al-Qa'qa State Company where the inspectors questioned company officials about the activities of units that are still functioning and about the factories which have ceased production. The inspectors also asked about tagged equipment at the site before touring a sulphuric acid plant, the Foreign Ministry reported. UNMOVIC confirmed the inspection of the sulphuric acid plant but did not elaborate on the inspection.
      A biological inspection team went to the Al-Aziziyah Airfield and Firing Range, where they retrieved samples and asked about the number of bombs excavated on 8 March, the Foreign Ministry stated. UNMOVIC confirmed the inspection and stated that the inspectors "took additional samples from the remainders of the stainless steel containers that, Iraq had stated, had been used to transport biological agents."
      A Baghdad-based joint inspection team went to a factory where yellow corn is dried and separated, according to the Foreign Ministry. The factory is a subsidiary of the Ma Bayn Al-Nahrayn State Company for Seeds, which is an affiliate of the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture. The inspectors asked the company's director about the number of workers at the factory, as well as when the factory was established and when when the company became a subsidiary of the Ministry of Agriculture. The inspectors also toured the company's stores, the Foreign Minsitry added. UNMOVIC confirmed the inspection of the Yellow Corn Workshop, which is some 100 kilometers south of Baghdad.
      A Mosul-based joint inspection team visited "two old television and radio stations," the Foreign Ministry reported. The buildings on the site were destroyed in 1991. Inspectors photographed the rubble of the buildings and inspected the two destroyed sites, according to the ministry. UNMOVIC did not mention this inspection in its 8 March briefing.
      UNMOVIC successfully interviewed an Iraqi "specialist," the Foreign Ministry stated. UNMOVIC confirmed the private interview with the scientist and noted that this interview marked the eighth of its kind since 28 February. Four other interviews were cancelled due to demands by the interviewees to document the meetings, UNMOVIC stated.

NEWSLETTER

Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Tracking Inspections in Iraq