Inspectors at missile plant

Weapons inspectors paid a surprise visit to a Baghdad missile plant today as international experts met behind closed doors in New York to assess whether Iraq’s short-range missiles can fly farther than permitted.

In their daily rounds of inspections, conducted despite a Muslim holiday in Iraq, a UN team went to a factory, which makes moulds and casts, including components for Iraq’s al-Samoud ballistic missiles, the Information Ministry reported.

Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix reported to the Security Council last month that Iraq’s liquid-fuelled al-Samoud 2 missile reached a maximum of 113 miles in test flights, passing the limit of 94 miles set under UN resolutions imposing controls on Iraqi arms since the 1991 Gulf War.

The Iraqis say that, when operational, the missile’s range will fall below 94 miles.