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Tracking Inspections in Iraq

RFE/L

10 MARCH 2003

      The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) carried out a car-borne radiation survey at the Al-Tuwaythah site, which belongs to the Iraqi Atomic Energy Organization. The survey included all roads as well as a building. The team also took samples, according to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry. The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) stated that two IAEA teams went to Al-Tuwaythah. The first conduced a car-borne radiation survey; the second reviewed "the status of radioactive waste remaining in a waste storage site."
      A missile inspection team returned to the Al-Taji Technical Battalion to observe the destruction of six missiles and three warheads, the Foreign Ministry stated. UNMOVIC confirmed the inspection and added in its statement that the team also inspected a command and control vehicle that is used to launch Al-Sumud 2 missiles. During the vehicle inspection, the inspectors erased all computer software used to perform a launch.
      The same team also went to the Al-Harith State Company, an affiliate of the Military Industrialization Organization (MIO), to tag air-to-air missiles that have been moved to the site for maintenance, the Foreign Ministry reported. UNMOVIC confirmed that inspectors removed tags from SA-2 missiles that were undergoing routine maintenance, and tagged missiles in which maintenance had been completed.
      A second missile inspection team visited the Al-Karamah State Company (MIO-affiliated) to inventory Al-Sumud 2 missile materials before they were transported for destruction, according to the Foreign Ministry. UNMOVIC stated that the inspectors went to the Al-Waziriyah Plant to inventory and to begin destroying materials related to the Al-Sumud 2 missiles.
      A UNMOVIC chemical inspection team went to a tanning factory belonging to the State Tanning Company. The inspectors questioned factory officials about the factory's activities, its production rate, the raw materials it uses, and its monthly consumption of chemical materials, as well as the number of personnel holding university degrees, the Foreign Ministry reported. UNMOVIC reported that the site is called the State Company for Leather Industry and is located 11 kilometers south of Baghdad. "The site was declared as using declarable chemicals," UNMOVIC noted.
      A biological inspection team returned to the Al-Aziziyah Airfield and Firing Range to observe the ongoing excavation of R-400 bombs and their fragments. The inspectors counted the bombs that had been excavated on 9 and 10 March, the Foreign Ministry reported. UNMOVIC confirmed the inspection and stated that the team also supervised the transfer of bombs and bomb fragments to a more secure area at the site.
      A second biological team went to the Ma Bayn Al-Nahrayn State Company for Seeds, which is an affiliate of the Ministry of Agriculture. The inspectors met with site officials and asked about the date of the site's construction, its main activities, the types of vehicles used to transport seeds to the site, the number of workers at the site, and whether there is a laboratory at the site, the Foreign Ministry reported. UNMOVIC confirmed that inspectors visited the site, which is located 30 kilometers east-northeast of Baghdad, but did not provide details on the inspection.
      A Baghdad-based joint inspection team visited the State Company for Mechanical Industries, which is an affiliate of the Ministry of Industry. The inspectors asked company officials about the company's activities, its "most important production," and its affiliations, especially its affiliation to military industries, the Foreign Ministry noted. The inspectors also toured the site. UNMOVIC stated that the company produces "agricultural machines."
      The joint inspection team then proceeded to the Hittin State Company (MIO-affiliated), where the inspectors questioned company officials about the kinds of ammunition produced at the site, the number of staff, and the quarters that benefit from the company's production. The inspectors also toured the site, according to the Foreign Ministry. UNMOVIC acknowledged that inspectors went to this site which, according to UNMOVIC, is an artillery munitions production site. It did not offer details on the inspection.
      A Mirage IV reconnaissance plane surveyed the skies over Iraq for over three hours, the Foreign Ministry reported.
      UNMOVIC successfully held an interview with an Iraqi "specialist," according to the Foreign Ministry. UNMOVIC confirmed the interview and stated that the individual had "taken part in the unilateral destruction of precursors for chemical weapons production."

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