Weapons inspection 212's leave Iraq!
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Weapons inspection 212's leave Iraq!
Five of eight helicopters used by weapons inspectors leave Iraq
Sun Mar 16, 8:54 AM ET
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraq said that five of eight helicopters used by U.N. weapons inspectors left Sunday for Syria en route to Cyprus after a "Western" insurance company suspended its cover for the aircraft.
The U.N. spokesman in Baghdad, Hiro Ueki, could not immediately be reached for comment, and no reason was given for the company's action.
Ueki said Saturday that the inspectors were carrying out their business as usual, despite the threat of a U.S.-led war to disarm President Saddam Hussein by force. Sixty inspectors remained in Iraq, including Britons and Americans, and 30 more were in Cyprus on a short break, he said.
The eight helicopters have been used by the inspectors since January to travel across Iraq to visit sites suspected of involvement in the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction.
The five that pulled out are U.S.-made Bell-212s and the three that remain are Russian-made Mi-8s, which are insured by another company.
The three Mi-8 aircraft would continue to be used in the inspections, according to a statement by the National Monitoring Directorate, the Iraqi state agency that liaises with the inspectors.
Sun Mar 16, 8:54 AM ET
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraq said that five of eight helicopters used by U.N. weapons inspectors left Sunday for Syria en route to Cyprus after a "Western" insurance company suspended its cover for the aircraft.
The U.N. spokesman in Baghdad, Hiro Ueki, could not immediately be reached for comment, and no reason was given for the company's action.
Ueki said Saturday that the inspectors were carrying out their business as usual, despite the threat of a U.S.-led war to disarm President Saddam Hussein by force. Sixty inspectors remained in Iraq, including Britons and Americans, and 30 more were in Cyprus on a short break, he said.
The eight helicopters have been used by the inspectors since January to travel across Iraq to visit sites suspected of involvement in the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction.
The five that pulled out are U.S.-made Bell-212s and the three that remain are Russian-made Mi-8s, which are insured by another company.
The three Mi-8 aircraft would continue to be used in the inspections, according to a statement by the National Monitoring Directorate, the Iraqi state agency that liaises with the inspectors.
