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Dutch Marines Find "Suspect Shells" in Iraq
Could be another false alarm (hence all the caveats), God knows weâve had plenty of those. OTOH, thereâs always a chance that this a genuine find.Dutch marines clearing munitions in the southern al-Muthana province of Iraq have called in British and American weapons inspectors after finding âa few dozen suspect shellsâ, a Defence Ministry spokesman in the Netherlands said Saturday. Some 1,100 Dutch marines have been based in the region since August under the British-led stabilisation force. âWe are there clearing unused and old munitions, some dating back to the Gulf war, and found a few dozen shells of which we arenât 100 per cent sure of the contents,â spokesman Robin Middel said. âWe arenât saying these are chemical weapons, it could be anything,â he said. The 130-mm artillery shells found October 8th showed âseveral indications of some kind of chemical reactionâ, Middel said. âThey could be regular munitions that have become discoloured by the heat and sun.â Following standard procedures, Dutch marines buried the suspect munitions in air tight bags 1.5 metres (4 feet) underground, Middel said. British commanders overseeing the Dutch operation have been informed and weapons experts called to conduct inspections. The Netherlands was not involved in combat operations during the Iraqi war, but gave political support to the United States and provided Turkey with Patriot rocket-defence systems. Posted by: Dan Darling 2003-10-18 |
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