According to the UN and western intelligence reports, these are among the biological and chemical weapons Iraq has produced since it began its biochemical weapons programme in 1985. The programme began at the Muthanna State Establishment, northwest of Baghdad, and moved on to other sites, such as Salman Pak and Al Hakum.
Anthrax
Iraq has acknowledged making 2,265 US gallons of anthrax, which could in theory kill billions. Its spores at first causes flu-like symptoms and fatigue, followed by severe chest congestion. It can lie dormant for several days; in its second phase it assaults the kidneys, liver and lungs. It is fatal in 80 per of cases.
Botulinum toxin
Iraq has acknowledged producing 3,117 US gallons of this toxin, which could wipe out the world's population several times. The bacterium is normally found in contaminated food; it produces a highly toxic substance that causes blurred vision, a dry mouth, difficulty in swallowing or speaking, and weakness. Paralysis, respiratory failure and death can follow (30 per cent die).
Ricin
Ricin, a deadly protein toxin derived from castor beans, is one of the most toxic naturally occurring substances: it was the poison used to kill the Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markow in London. Iraq initially denied it had any for use in a military role. Eventually it admitted packing it into a handful of 155mm artillery shells.
Aflatoxin
Iraq produced nearly 2,000 litres of aflatoxin agent in its Agricultural and Water Resources Research Centre at Fudaliyah, on the outskirts of Baghdad. Aflatoxin destroys the immune system in animals and is carcinogenic to humans. It often turns up in moulds that grow on nuts; Iraq is a large producer of pistachio nuts.
Clostridium perfringens
Iraq produced hundreds of litres of clostridium perfringens at its Al Hakum centre, south-west of Baghdad. The US destroyed Al Hakum in 1996. The UN says this bacterium, a common source of food poisoning, was also developed at Iraq's Salman Pak research centre. It forms spores that can live in soil, and can cause gas gangrene when it finds its way into open battlefield wounds. Gas gangrene produces pain and swelling as the infected area swells with gas; later it causes shock, jaundice and death.
VX
A highly toxic nerve agent Iraq produced, alongside mustard gas, and used in 1988 against Kurds in Halabja, in Iraqi Kurdistan. On November 2nd, 1997, the Observer reported that the UN believed Iraq was holding secret stocks of VX, and that UN experts were about to uncover it when they were ordered to leave.
Agent 15
The British government said this week that it believed Iraq has possessed quantities of this mental incapacitant since the 1980s. The immediate effects of exposure to Agent 15 are thought to include weakness, dizziness, disorientation and loss of co-ordination.
And if that's not enough . . .
The UN says Iraq used the Daura Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine facility, south of Baghdad, to study the deadly virus camelpox, haemorrhagic conjunctivitis (which causes the eyes to bleed), and human rotavirus (the most common form of severe diarrhoea among children).
