British Prime Minister Tony Blair admitted that alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD) possessed by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein "may never befound" in Iraq. (Xinhua photo) 

    LONDON/BAGHDAD, July 6 (Xinhuanet) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair admitted Tuesday that alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD) possessed by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein "may never befound" in Iraq, where blasts and attacks claimed a dozen of more civilians and US soldiers Tuesday.     

    WMD MAY NEVER BE FOUND

    Blair, who led Britain to join the US-led war against Iraq on the ground that Iraq's banned weapons posed threat to the international community, told a committee of senior lawmakers thathe "had to accept that we have not found them and we may never find them."

    However, he argued this did not mean Saddam had not been a threat.

    Blair had been insisting that coalition forces in Iraq could find evidence that Saddam had possessed WMD.

    Saddam had been in breach of United Nations resolutions and hisweapons might have been "removed, hidden or destroyed," the prime minister said.

    His remarks were echoed by US President George W. Bush, who defended his Iraqi war decision by calling Saddam "a threat" seeking to possess banned weapons.

    "I know that Saddam Hussein was a threat. He was a threat to the neighborhood, he was a threat to the people of Iraq, he harbored terrorists," Bush told reporters Tuesday at a briefing with Iceland's Prime Minister David Oddsson.

    "Saddam Hussein had the intent, he had the capability" to produce weapons of mass destruction, Bush claimed.

    Bush has repeatedly claimed that the Saddam regime possessed WMD, a major excuse for Bush's decision to go to war with Iraq.

    However, the United States has so far failed to find any alleged banned weapons in Iraq.

    Meanwhile, a poll showed that half of the Britons want British troops to be withdrawn from Iraq as soon as possible, 9 percentagepoints more than those who want the troops to stay until there is a stable democracy.

    The Times newspaper quoted the latest Populus poll as showing that 51 percent of the respondents believed the British forces stationed in Iraq should "leave as soon as possible" while 42 percent want them to "stay for as long as it takes."

    The poll, which revealed continuing deep divisions on Iraq in Britain, found that over half of the British people thought the US-led war against Iraq was wrong while less than 40 percent believedit was right.     

    VIOLENCE RAMPAGES

    At least 14 people were killed in a car bomb attack in Khales, near the restive town of Baquba, Qatar-based al-Jazeera TV reported Tuesday.

    "At least 14 people were killed and more than 70 were injured when a suicide car bomb exploded northeast of Baghdad on Tuesday,"the channel quoted the police chief of Dyala province as saying.

    The US military had no immediate comment on the blast, which occurred in the town of Khales near Baquba, some 60 km northeast of Baghdad.

    The car bombing was the bloodiest since the US-led occupation authority handed over sovereignty to a caretaker Iraqi government on June 28.

    The blast took place at about 4:15 p.m. local time (1215 GMT) near a house where a memorial service was being held for two Iraqis killed in an attack on Sunday in Baquba, reports said.

    US troops and Iraqi police raced to scene of the blast and sealed off the area as ambulances and private cars transferred thevictims to a local hospital.

    In another development, three US Marines have been killed in combat action in central Iraq, the US military said in a statementTuesday.

    Two of the Marines, assigned to the First Marine Expeditionary Force, were killed in action Monday in the Anbar province while conducting security and stability operations, while a third died of his wounds later Monday, said the statement.

    The names of the soldiers are being withheld pending notification of relatives.

    Over 850 US service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq last spring.     

    FRESH TIES BEING BUILT

    The first British ambassador to Iraq in more than a decade, Edward Chaplin, arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday to help rebuild tiesbetween the two countries.

    "He got here this morning," said Victoria Whitford, the embassyspokeswoman.

    The new ambassador believed that relations between Britain and Iraq used to be very strong with strong trade and cultural links, according to the spokeswoman.

    Chaplin, a 53-year-old Arabic speaker and a Middle East expert,came here following the arrival of his US counterpart, John Negroponte, who flew into Baghdad on June 28.

    Britain severed diplomatic ties with Iraq in February 1991 ahead of the first Gulf War.

    French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier confirmed Tuesday that his country will restore diplomatic relations with Iraq soon, adding that the French attache is already in Baghdad.

    "I announced the day after the transfer of sovereignty took effect in Baghdad (on June 28) that we were ready to re-establish diplomatic relations," Barnier told reporters after meeting his Greek counterpart Petros Molyviatis in Athens.

    "Our head of diplomatic mission (in Iraq) was received yesterday by (Iraqi interim Prime Minister) Iyad Allawi and thingswill unfold very quickly," said Barnier who is on a 24-hour working visit to Greece.

    The French minister reaffirmed that his government would provide technical assistance but would not send any French soldiers to Iraq.

    Meanwhile, UN special envoy for Iraq Lakhdar Brahimi said Tuesday that the United Nations is keen to have a vital role in Iraq, but security remains a major concern.

    Brahimi, who arrived in Jordan on Monday after a visit to Iran,said that the United Nations will hold discussions with the parties concerned in Iraq to protect the UN staff there.

    Earlier in the day, Brahimi said after meeting with Jordanian Prime Minister Faisal al-Fayez that the world body will resume itsmission in Iraq when security problems are solved.

    He said it is necessary for the United Nations to have a role in Iraq, noting that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will soon appoint an aide for him to Iraq.

    The United Nations evacuated most of its staff in Iraq after its top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 others were killed in an attack on its headquarters in Baghdad last August. Enditem