US non-committal on suspected Iraqi chemical weapons find

US marines have discovered 278 artillery shells carrying a substance that tested positive as a chemical agent, senior officers said yesterday. But other US military sources played down the importance of the find.

Major Stephen Armes, operations officer of the Marines 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment, said the shells containing suspected blister agents were found in trailers in a schoolyard. Three were mounted on launchers, he said.

“They tested positive for chemical weapons,” he told AFP. But Lieutenant Colonel Fred Padilla, the battalion commander, said more tests were required.