ĦĦĦĦDOHA, March 28 (Xinhuanet) -- Iraqi military on Friday fired at least 12
missiles of Al-Samoud family toward Kuwait as the US-led Iraq war entered the
9th day, a spokesman for the coalition forces told a press briefing here, adding
Iraq was still a threat to its neighboring countries.
ĦĦĦĦUS Brigadier-General Vincent Brooks, the spokesman, said the missiles were
detected being fired within Iraq and the coalition forces would try to locate
and destroy all Iraqi missile launchers and weapons system.
ĦĦĦĦHe said the United States and its coalition partners were fully convinced
that Iraq did have biological or chemical weapons, adding such weapons of mass
destruction might be used by the Iraqi military in the future combat.
ĦĦĦĦHe said Iraq might have told its forces to be ready to use chemical weapons
at some point, but said they had no knowledge of any command actually to do so.
ĦĦĦĦIraq has always denied that it has weapons of mass destruction.Chief UN
weapons inspectors said on Thursday at the UN headquarters in New York that
there are no prohibited weapons used in the current Iraq war.
ĦĦĦĦ"We have seen indications through a variety of sources and reporting means
that first orders have been given that at a certain point chemical weapons might
be used," said Brooks.
ĦĦĦĦAs to the issue of humanitarian aid to Iraqi people, Brooks said there had
been some problems with the humanitarian aid because of the mines planted near
the southern Iraqi port city of Umm Qasr.
ĦĦĦĦHe said air-drops of relief goods for the Iraqi needy people were still
going on, but those were insufficient.
ĦĦĦĦHowever, he said, since maritime forces have cleared mines from waterways
to facilitate aid delivery, British warship Sir Galahad has arrived at Umm Qasr
to deliver more aid for Iraqi people.
ĦĦĦĦThis is the first ship bringing humanitarian aid to Iraq since the US-led
invasion began last Thursday.
ĦĦĦĦThe Sir Galahad, a British naval supply vessel carrying 200 tons of food,
medicine and blankets and also water, docked in Iraq's only deepwater port at
4:28 p.m. (1328 GMT).
ĦĦĦĦThe arrival of the ship was designed to show that Washington and London are
sincere in saying that the nine-day-old war is against President Saddam Hussein
and not ordinary Iraqis, observers here said. Enditem