WASHINGTON – U.S. forces have found about 500 chemical weapons with poison gas in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein and there could be more, says a just-declassified U.S. intelligence report.
There have been prior reports of finding a few poison-gas shells in Iraq, but never as many as 500, so the report could re-ignite the debate over Saddam’s weapons program.
Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte released the latest report at the request of two Republican congressmen. It says the sarin- and mustard-gas shells predate the 1991 Gulf War but are still dangerous.
“Since 2003, coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent,” the report says.
* Ayman al-Zawahri, al Qaeda’s No. 2 leader, issued a new videotape early today calling on Muslims to rise up against U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, officials said.