UN arms experts pushed ahead with a hunt for banned weapons in Iraq today, inspecting mobile laboratories, state companies and colleges on the eve of a crucial visit to Baghdad by top inspectors.
Weapons inspections, now in their eighth week, have intensified this month ahead of a report to the UN Security Council on January 27th on the experts' findings and on Iraq's cooperation with them.
The report could be key to any decision on launching a US military invasion of the oil-rich country if Baghdad was found in "material breach" of a November UN Security Council resolution.
UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) experts led by senior inspector Dr Dimitri Perricos swooped on a laboratory run by the trade ministry's State Company for Food Testing, in the northern outskirts of Baghdad.
Ms Nawal Fatouhy, the head of the lab, said after the three-hour inspection that the experts took samples for further testing from the vehicles which she said were mobile labs designed to check Iraqi food imports.
Ms Fatouhy said the labs were used exclusively for testing food. She said she answered all questions asked by the inspectors, including the number of staff and their specialisations.
Armed Iraqi guards stopped journalists from entering the facility during the searches and as usual the inspectors did not speak to reporters.