Possible chemical arms found in Iraq while five killed elsewhere

BAGHDAD - British troops said they opened fire on grenade-throwing Iraqi protesters in a clash in which at least five people were killed this morning, while Danish forces reported finding possible chemical weapons in southern Iraq.

The violence began when Iraqi police believed they were the target of gunfire during a protest over unemployment in the southeastern city of Amara, Britain's Defence Ministry said in a statement in London.

The police opened fire and British troops with armoured vehicles were deployed to support them, the ministry said.

The British troops also opened fire when grenades were hurled at them, it said.

"It is our understanding that there have been six casualties -- five fatalities and one injured," said the ministry. It said it could give few details on the deaths, but no British or Iraqi police casualties were reported.

Iraqi police said earlier they opened fire after the protesters began throwing stones at the provincial government's headquarters.

A number of protests over lack of jobs have been staged in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was toppled by US-led forces last April and some have turned violent.

Meanwhile, Denmark said its troops had found 36 mortar shells buried in southern Iraq that initial chemical weapons tests showed could contain blister gas. The shells had been buried for at least 10 years and the site may contain another 100, it said.

"All the instruments showed indications of the same type of chemical compound, namely blister gas," the Danish Army Operational Command said on its website, cautioning further tests were needed. Final results were likely in about two days.

Blister gas, an illegal weapon which Saddam said he had destroyed, was used extensively against the Iranians during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

Icelandic bomb experts working with the Danes said the 120mm shells were concealed in road construction some 75km south of Amara and close to the Iranian border.

US President George W Bush ordered US-led forces to invade Iraq after accusing Saddam of possessing weapons of mass destruction. No such arms have been found so far.

In other news, the US military said a preliminary investigation showed the Black Hawk helicopter that crashed near the town of Falluja in central Iraq last Thursday was shot down by guerrillas. All nine soldiers on board were killed.

Washington blames Saddam supporters and foreign Islamic militants for attacks on US-led forces and Iraqis cooperating with US governor Paul Bremer's administration in Baghdad.

The US military said US soldiers shot and killed two Iraqi policemen embroiled in a family feud in the northern city of Kirkuk after mistaking them for assailants.

Occupation Watch, an international group of peace and justice organisations monitoring the conduct of US-led forces, said Washington was negligent and callous with Iraqis seeking compensation for relatives accidentally killed or maimed.

After Washington declared major combat over on May 1, the US military said it would hear claims from Iraqis whose family members were killed or wounded in incidents involving US troops as long as they occurred in non-combat circumstances.

"There is a culture of impunity," Occupation Watch's researcher Paola Gasparoli told a news conference in Baghdad at which the group presented a 30-page report.

The image of Saddam, captured by US troops in December, was officially erased from another walk of Iraqi life when new postage stamps were unveiled at Baghdad's main post office.

"It makes a nice change because Saddam's face was everywhere -- not just on stamps," said postal worker Leila Khadar.

- REUTERS


Herald Feature: Iraq