- The Pentagon is playing down reports that US troops have
found a "huge" chemical weapons factory in the town of Najaf,
100 miles south of Baghdad.
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- Sky's Washington correspondent Keith Graves says it now
appears as if the facility has not been manufacturing chemical or biological
weapons.
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- "Officials are urging journalists to treat reports
of this type of find with more caution," he said.
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- The facility was uncovered by the 1st Brigade of the
Third Infantry division as they advanced north towards Baghdad.
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- The 100-acre complex, lies next to military barracks
and is surrounded by an electrical fence.
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- Asked at a news conference in Qatar about reports of
the chemical plant, Lt Gen John Abizaid of US Central Command refused to
comment.
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- He would only say: "We have an Iraqi general officer,
two Iraqi general officers that we have taken prisoner, and they are providing
us with information."
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- UN weapons inspectors have said they are not aware of
any large-scale chemical sites in Najaf.
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- Spokesman Ewen Buchanan said UN inspectors visited a
cement plant in Najaf earlier this year but did not find anything untoward.
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- Graves pointed out that the US and Britain are desperate
for evidence that Iraq has been manufacturing weapons of mass destruction.
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- "This has been cited as the main reason for going
to war against Saddam Hussein, who denies having banned weapons.
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- "It would also explain why, in this case, there
was so much excitement when troops investigated the factory."
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- http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,70146-1084802,00.html
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