Reports that US has found Iraqi chemical weapons

3.00pm

UPDATE - United States forces have been quoted as saying they have found what they believe to be a "huge" chemical weapons factory near the Iraqi city of Najaf, about 160km south of Baghdad.

Fox News and the Jerusalem Post, which had a reporter travelling with the US forces, cited unidentified Pentagon officials as saying the facility was seized by the First Brigade of the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division as they advanced north toward Baghdad.

About 30 Iraqi troops, including their commanding general, surrendered to US forces as they overtook the installation, apparently used to produce chemical weapons, the Jerusalem Post reported.

One soldier was lightly wounded when a booby-trap exploded as he was clearing the sheetmetal-lined facility, the report said.

The 40-hectare complex is adjacent to military barracks and surrounded by an electric fence, the report said.

It was not immediately clear what chemicals were being produced at the facility, but both reports said the Iraqis had tried to camouflage the facility so it looked like the surrounding desert and would not be spotted from the air.

ABC News cited one unidentified official as saying of the captured Iraqi general: "He is a potential gold mine of evidence about the weapons Saddam Hussein said he does not have."

Asked to comment on the reports, a Central Command official said in an email: "While media reports are premature, we are looking into sites of interest."

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq