US report to say no WMD found in Iraq

4.50pm

WASHINGTON - A draft report by the top US weapons inspector in Iraq concludes no stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction were found, but there was evidence Saddam Hussein intended to resurrect weapons programs, US government sources said on Thursday.

Charles Duelfer, the CIA-appointed leader of the weapons hunt, was still finalising the roughly 1,500 page-report, which was expected to say no stockpiles of biological or chemical weapons were found, the sources told Reuters.

The perceived threat from weapons of mass destruction was the main justification used by the Bush administration for the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 that toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Duelfer is expected to complete the report in the next several weeks.

His predecessor, David Kay, said when he stepped down in January that no large stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons existed in Iraq when the United States went to war.

Earlier this week, Secretary of State Colin Powell told lawmakers he now thought stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons would probably never be found.

The most specific evidence of an illicit weapons program was uncovered in labs operated by the Iraqi Intelligence Service, which could have produced small quantities of chemical and biological agents, The New York Times reported on its web site, citing government officials.

The report will leave open the possibility that illicit weapons may have been moved to other countries, which has not been substantiated, the newspaper said.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq