thedrifter
04-05-03, 08:05 PM
Marines Dig at Suspected Iraq Chemical Arms Site
By Sean Maguire
AZIZIYAH, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. Marines were digging up a suspected chemical weapons hiding place at an Iraqi school on Saturday, describing it as one of the most likely concealment sites discovered in a so far fruitless hunt.
Based on information from a local Iraqi who described himself as a former special forces member, the Marines descended on the courtyard of the girls' school in central Iraq (news - web sites) and began hacking through a plate of concrete with pickaxes and shovels.
The informant told the Marines that a team of Iraqi officials broke through the wall of the school two months ago to truck in material and buried it under new concrete -- about the size of two tennis courts -- in the course of three nights.
The gap in the wall had clearly been rebuilt.
Major General James Mattis, commander of the Marine First Division, the main Marine ground force, flew in to view the dig in a sign of how seriously Washington is taking its hunt for the chemical and biological weapons it alleges Iraq has hidden.
"We don't have a clue what's here but we're going to dig it up and see," said Mattis. "Local people grabbed a Marine's gas mask and pointed to this site."
Marine forces swept into Aziziyah, a dusty town 80 km (50 miles) south-east of Baghdad, to sweep up any pockets of resistance left by advance forces, who have reached the edge of Baghdad. No Iraqi troops were found.
Washington alleged that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) was hiding outlawed weaponry from United Nations (news - web sites) inspectors and said this justified an invasion to topple him. Saddam says he has no such weapons and none have yet been found.
QUICK HIDING
"If I was going to hide something quickly, very hastily, with only a few days notice, then I'd do it like this," said Corporal Eric Swithin, who specializes in detecting and dealing with chemical and biological weapons.
The suspected concealment took place just before U.N. inspectors came to Aziziyah, local people said. Initial detection tests showed no chemicals around the courtyard slab.
"We're going to run into a whole bunch of sites like this," added Swithin, saying that it was a promising step that Iraqi civilians were willing to volunteer information. "There is enough shady activity here to justify us digging."
"I think we're going to find something sometime," he added, staring at the broken mass of dirt and metal reinforcing bars the Marines had dug up with the few tools they had available. Heavy equipment had been called in to continue exploration.
Initial tests suggested that the concrete was relatively fresh and had been laid over a layer of plastic sheeting to ensure an airtight seal.
The large blank concrete slab had no holes for building posts that would be expected if it was intended as the foundations of a school extension.
The U.S. military says Iraqi forces and irregulars of Saddam Hussein's Baath party have been using local schools as weapons collections and headquarters posts.
Earlier on Saturday, a U.S. officer said that first tests of a white powder and liquid found on Friday in thousands of boxes south of Baghdad indicated it was not a chemical weapon.
And there have been no reports of chemical or biological attacks even though U.S. troops have crossed what the U.S. military suspected might be a "red line" around Baghdad within Saddam might resort to weapons of mass destruction.
Sempers,
Roger
By Sean Maguire
AZIZIYAH, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. Marines were digging up a suspected chemical weapons hiding place at an Iraqi school on Saturday, describing it as one of the most likely concealment sites discovered in a so far fruitless hunt.
Based on information from a local Iraqi who described himself as a former special forces member, the Marines descended on the courtyard of the girls' school in central Iraq (news - web sites) and began hacking through a plate of concrete with pickaxes and shovels.
The informant told the Marines that a team of Iraqi officials broke through the wall of the school two months ago to truck in material and buried it under new concrete -- about the size of two tennis courts -- in the course of three nights.
The gap in the wall had clearly been rebuilt.
Major General James Mattis, commander of the Marine First Division, the main Marine ground force, flew in to view the dig in a sign of how seriously Washington is taking its hunt for the chemical and biological weapons it alleges Iraq has hidden.
"We don't have a clue what's here but we're going to dig it up and see," said Mattis. "Local people grabbed a Marine's gas mask and pointed to this site."
Marine forces swept into Aziziyah, a dusty town 80 km (50 miles) south-east of Baghdad, to sweep up any pockets of resistance left by advance forces, who have reached the edge of Baghdad. No Iraqi troops were found.
Washington alleged that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) was hiding outlawed weaponry from United Nations (news - web sites) inspectors and said this justified an invasion to topple him. Saddam says he has no such weapons and none have yet been found.
QUICK HIDING
"If I was going to hide something quickly, very hastily, with only a few days notice, then I'd do it like this," said Corporal Eric Swithin, who specializes in detecting and dealing with chemical and biological weapons.
The suspected concealment took place just before U.N. inspectors came to Aziziyah, local people said. Initial detection tests showed no chemicals around the courtyard slab.
"We're going to run into a whole bunch of sites like this," added Swithin, saying that it was a promising step that Iraqi civilians were willing to volunteer information. "There is enough shady activity here to justify us digging."
"I think we're going to find something sometime," he added, staring at the broken mass of dirt and metal reinforcing bars the Marines had dug up with the few tools they had available. Heavy equipment had been called in to continue exploration.
Initial tests suggested that the concrete was relatively fresh and had been laid over a layer of plastic sheeting to ensure an airtight seal.
The large blank concrete slab had no holes for building posts that would be expected if it was intended as the foundations of a school extension.
The U.S. military says Iraqi forces and irregulars of Saddam Hussein's Baath party have been using local schools as weapons collections and headquarters posts.
Earlier on Saturday, a U.S. officer said that first tests of a white powder and liquid found on Friday in thousands of boxes south of Baghdad indicated it was not a chemical weapon.
And there have been no reports of chemical or biological attacks even though U.S. troops have crossed what the U.S. military suspected might be a "red line" around Baghdad within Saddam might resort to weapons of mass destruction.
Sempers,
Roger