UN weapons team in Baghdad

A United Nations germ warfare team is in Baghdad trying to close the remaining gaps in Iraq's biological weapons file, a UN arms official said on July 8.

Jo Lomas, special assistant to the head of Iraq's ongoing monitoring program, said the 12-member team had arrived on July 5 and met the head of Iraq's National Monitoring Department, Hussam Ameen.

She said since last month's stand-off when a UN weapons team was denied access to three sensitive sites the Iraqis have co-operated with visiting teams.

She said a chemical arms group ended its visit to Iraq last week with "no major incident."

The current biological team has already started inspecting Iraq's biological weapons sites.

Last month's standoff on inspection rights prompted the security council to issue a warning to Iraq that it would clamp additional sanctions on Baghdad if it did not comply fully with obligations under the 1991 Gulf war cease-fire.

Under the Gulf war terms Iraq has to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles along with the means to produce them. It must also accept long-term surveillance of its mass weapons industries.

Lomas said the current biological team would stay for two weeks in Iraq.

The UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) disarming Iraq under the cease-fire conditions says Iraq has not yet uncovered all secrets about its past biological warfare capabilities. Baghdad says it has nothing left to hide.

The removal of curbs on Iraq's oil exports largely depends on testimony from UNSCOM that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction have either been annihilated or rendered harmless.

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