UN in last-ditch bid to secure Iraqi compliance

TOP UN disarmament officials Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei, are expected to go to Baghdad next week despite a letter they wrote that appeared to put conditions on the trip, UN officials said last night.

The trip, expected on February 8, falls a few days before another report by the inspectors to the UN Security Council on February 14, and may be their last report before the US makes its decision on whether to attack.

Spokesmen for both UN officials confirmed the visit.