United Nations arms inspectors have confirmed the destruction of the first of four al-Samoud II missiles following this morning's decision by Iraq to meet a deadline set by chief weapons inspector Hans Blix.
A senior United Nations weapons inspector confirmed the first al-Samoud II missile had been "successfully destroyed" in line with a deadline set by the United Nations.
"One missile was successfully destroyed. The destruction of the three other missiles is still ongoing. Hopefully all four would be destroyed later today," Dimitri Perricos, who heads the UN inspectors team, told reporters this afternoon.
Mr Hiro Ueki, spokesman for the inspectors, said the destruction of the missiles, components and related systems had begun at Taji military base, 40 km (25 miles) north of Baghdad. "UN inspectors supervised the work," he told reporters.
Earlier, an Iraqi Information Ministry senior official, Mr Uday al-Taei said: "The destruction of al-Samoud missiles has started."
Mr al-Taei said a major component of the missile - the mould for the solid fuel component - would be destroyed tomorrow.
He said "a timetable and action plan" had also been agreed for the coming days.
Iraq is believed to have produced around 120 al-Samoud 2 missiles, deploying about 50 in military bases around Baghdad. Mr Hiro Ueki, the spokesman for the UN inspectors, said he could only issue details once the inspectors returned to base.
He had earlier confirmed the process was about to start. Senior inspector Dimitri Perricos, who earlier in the day held technical talks with a top Iraqi official on the methods and timetable of the destruction, led the inspection team.
UN experts say the missile range exceeds the 150-km (93-mile) limit set in UN resolutions. Blix gave Iraq until Saturday to start destroying the rockets and associated hardware.
Talks between UN inspectors and Iraqi officials on how to destroy the missiles were held at the headquarters of the Iraqi Monitoring Directorate in Baghdad.
The United States is building a large military force in the Gulf region, including around 200,000 ground troops, to prepare for a possible invasion of Iraq. Bush has said the United States will act against Baghdad with a coalition of like-minded nations with or without UN backing.