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15 January 2003

A team of three International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors visited the Al-Mahawheel Storages belonging to Al-Qa'qa State Company to check RDX explosive materials.

A second group of two IAEA inspectors went to the Mechanical Industrial Company in Al-Iskandariyah (a.k.a. Al-Iskandariyah State Enterprise for Mechanical Industries) to inventory aluminum tubes. Inspectors also inventoried Al-Mu'taz Center (a.k.a. Al-Mu'taz Technical Institute) and the Al-Qa'qa State Company for the same reason. The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) stated that Al-Mu'taz specializes in mechanical engineering. Both sites are about 70 kilometers south of Baghdad.

A team of two IAEA inspectors went to the Hitten State Company to weigh and check RDX and HMX explosives. UNMOVIC calls the company an "ammunitions and armaments organization." Hittin is approximately 80 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, according to UNMOVIC.

A joint team of 17 inspectors apparently led their Iraqi counterparts on a wild goose chase through the streets of Baghdad, finally arriving at the government office buildings adjacent to the Republican Guard Presidential Compound. Inspectors checked government office buildings and requested that a safe be opened, but did not enter the presidential compound itself.

A team of 15 biological inspectors went to a private farm in Al-Durah, which is owned by a civilian. According to the Foreign Ministry statement, it has "four livestock fields, and two houses and [storage facilities]." Inspectors visited the declared storage sites and livestock buildings.

A team of nine inspectors went to the Al-Anbar University, in Al-Ramadi, approximately 150 kilometers west of Baghdad, according to UNMOVIC, where they visited the Colleges of Science, Education, the Girls College of Education, and the College of Medicine. Inspectors asked about the number of students who received a Ph.D. from the Biology Department.

A team of three chemical inspectors visited the Al-Nasr Al-Adheem State Company and the Al-Saad State Company to follow-up on the use of platelets and "ankednil" material, which is used to construct small filters, according to the Foreign Ministry. UNMOVIC noted that Al-Saad is a design center for refineries, while Al-Nasr Al-Adheem is a heavy-equipment manufacturer located approximately 16 kilometers west of Baghdad. Inspectors also went to the Khan Dari Stores, a storage facility located 60 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, according to UNMOVIC.

A team of 13 missile inspectors went to he Al-Amin Factory belonging to the Al-Rashid State Company -- owned by Iraq's Military Industrial Organization (MIO) -- in Amiriyat Al-Falluja, where they asked about factory production capacity. Inspectors then proceeded to the Engineering College in Baghdad to check a machine there. UNMOVIC insists this site is 130 kilometers south of Baghdad while the Foreign Ministry says it is 70 kilometers west of Baghdad. UNMOVIC also stated that the factory "was involved in the BADR 200 solid propellant missile project before 1991, and has since been responsible for the fabrication of motor cases and nozzles for Iraq's other solid propellant missiles." Inspectors verified information previously obtained by interviewing staff members. UNMOVIC added that "One sub-team visited the Al-Rashid SC Headquarters, about [a] 30-minute drive from Al-Amin, while the other sub-team drove to the Al-Za'faraniyah Military College of Engineering, near the Al-Rashid Air Base."

A joint UNMOVIC inspection team of 13 flew from the Al-Rashid Airport to "military sites and armory storages in the north of Takrit Province," according to the ministry, to check equipment and conduct a general inspection. UNMOVIC stated inspectors checked the Takrit Munitions Depot.