Satellite images show 90 Iraqi weapons inspection sites looted or razed: UN report

About 90 sites in Iraq containing dual-use equipment and materials that can be used for either peaceful ends or acquiring weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) have been looted or razed, a UN panel said on Friday.

In its latest quarterly report to the Security Council, the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) reached the conclusion based on continuing examination of high-resolution satellite imagery from sites that were subject to monitoring.

UNMOVIC has been in charge of searching for Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and verifying their destruction. It withdrew from Iraq ahead of the US-led invasion into the country two years ago and has since been barred from returning by Washington.

"As part of the examination and analysis, experts have determined that approximately 70 of the sites were subjected to varying degrees of bomb damage," the report said.

"The continuing examination of site imagery has revealed that approximately 90 of the total 353 sites analyzed containing equipment and materials of relevance have been stripped and/or razed," it added.

The commission said it had inquired Iraq's neighbors -- Jordan,Turkey, Kuwait and Syria -- whether looted items from Iraq's sites found their way into or through their territory. Syria has given a negative response, while Iran and Saudi Arabia have yet to reply.

The report also stated that the question of the continued existence of "seed stock," the reference to strains of micro-organisms that can be used in the future production of biological weapons agents, remains "part of the residue of uncertainty."

"Given its unresolvable nature, the issue could best be dealt with through monitoring to detect inter alia any possible future activity associated with biological weapon agent production or significant laboratory research work," it said.

The Security Council is scheduled to discuss the report next Tuesday.