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Iraq may be hiding weapons in Syria
( 2002-12-25 08:13 ) (7 )

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Tuesday that Israel suspected Iraq has been transferring chemical and biological weapons to Israel's arch-foe Syria to hide them from U.N. inspectors.

Sharon, in an interview with Israel's Channel Two television, said his comments were based on unconfirmed information and he gave no evidence to support the allegation against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

"What we believe, and I say that we have not yet confirmed it conclusively, is that weapons he wants to hide -- chemical and biological weapons -- have indeed been sent to Syria," Sharon said.

He said Israel was trying to verify the information.

U.N. weapons inspectors returned to Iraq last month after a four-year hiatus to resume a hunt for alleged weapons of mass destruction, amid threats by the United States to disarm Iraq by force if it does not obey U.N. resolutions.

Iraq says its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs have already been destroyed.

Sharon also told Channel Two that in the event of a war U.S. forces would operate in western Iraq and try to prevent missile or air attacks against Israel.

"The Americans definitely have a plan to begin operating, immediately at the start, in western Iraq to prevent planes from reaching Israel and to strike against missiles, if missiles are actually there," he said.

Israel has stepped up preparations for possible Iraqi missile attacks should the United States go to war against Iraq. Baghdad fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel in the 1991 Gulf War, causing one death and extensive damage in residential areas.

Israel and Syria have been in an official state of war for decades.

Syria, which took part in the 1991 Gulf War that drove Iraq from Kuwait, has since rebuilt ties with Baghdad after decades of rivalry. Nonetheless, to some surprise, Damascus cast its U.N. Security Council vote last month in favor of resolution 1441, which demands that Iraq disarm or face a possible war.