Equipment, materials for making Nuclear arms disappearing
MIL, Oct 12, 2004. Our Correspondent
Equipment and materials that could be used to make nuclear arms have been disappearing in Iraq since the invasion, the United Nations warned.
Satellite images show entire buildings have been dismantled without any record being made, said Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog.
Iraq leaders backed by US have not reported to the UN on the state of nuclear plants despite a duty to do so.
Apart from a couple of limited checks on the main nuclear facility at Tuwaitha last June after reports of looting - and with no teams now on the ground - the IAEA has to rely on satellite imagery and other sources.
In a letter to the UN Security Council, Mr ElBaradei said buildings related to Iraq's previous nuclear programme appeared to have been systematically dismantled after removing equipment and material.