U.N. Inspectors Head to Iraq on Weapons Hunt
U.N. inspectors left Bahrain on Friday to renew their search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that may have gone undetected on earlier missions.
A team of 13 biological weapons experts flew out of their regional base in Manama for Baghdad. A second group, a 45-member team of nuclear experts, continued to assemble in Bahrain in preparation for a trip to Iraq.
Both teams are part of the U.N. Special Committee, in charge of dismantling Iraqi nuclear and biological weapons.
The United States and other nations warned Iraq on Wednesday that military force might be used to escort the U.N. teams if Iraq does not cooperate in the effort to find and destroy all of its long-range missiles and any chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
Iraq insisted it was cooperating as required under the Gulf War cease-fire agreement. It accused Washington of using a dispute over whether U.N. teams can use their own helicopters as an excuse to launch another military campaign.
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