United Nations inspection team arrived in Baghdad

A seven-member United Nations inspection team arrived in Baghdad yesterday to determine how much nuclear material, if any, is missing following reports of looting at an Iraqi site that had been under seal of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

The IAEA team will carry out a mandate under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to conduct an inventory of nuclear material at a storage site, known as "Location C," near the Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Centre, which had held about 1.8 tons of low-enriched uranium and some 500 tons of natural and depleted uranium. The inspection is separate from the IAEA's Security Council mandate, which authorized the agency's search for evidence of banned nuclear weapons, material or programmes.

The site had been under IAEA seal and regularly inspected since 1991 and the inspectors will secure the facility, if necessary. The inspection work is being facilitated by the United States military, which will provide logistics and security, and is expected to last two weeks.