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Preliminary Tests Show Chemical Weapons at Iraqi Site
Pentagon sources said a prisoner of war led U.S. forces to a specific site near Karbala, near a camp described as a military facility, and that preliminary field tests on substances found at the site suggest they contain several banned chemical weapons, including deadly nerve agents. The ones they don't have Maj. Michael Hamlet of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division said the nerve agents sarin and tabun and the blister agent lewisite appeared to be present at the site, Reuters reported. FOLLOWUP: From AFP... A military intelligence officer for the US 101st Airborne Division's aviation brigade, Captain Adam Mastrianni, told AFP that comprehensive tests determined the presence of the pesticide compounds. Initial tests had reportedly detected traces of sarin â a powerful toxin that quickly affects the nervous system â after US soldiers guarding the facility near Hindiyah, 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Baghdad, fell ill. Mastrianni said: "They thought it was a nerve agent. That's what it tested. But it is pesticide." He said a "theatre-level chemical testing team" made up of biologists and chemists had finally disproved the preliminary field tests results and established that pesticide was the substance involved. Mastrianni added that sick soldiers, who had become nauseous, dizzy and developed skin blotches, had all recovered. Posted by: Sonic 2003-04-07 |
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