380 Tons of Explosives Stolen in Iraq

A spokesperson for the IAEA, Melissa Fleming, said yesterday that she would present the report prepared by IAEA President Mohammed Al Baradei to the UN Security Council. Fleming said that the Iraqi Science and Technology Ministry reported the missing materials to the IAEA, citing poor security measures as the reason for their absence. "We do not know what the explosives are or when they were looted," said Fleming.

Baradei, Fleming noted, learned about the missing explosives on October 10th. He informed Washington on October 15th. The New York Times, which first reported the story, said that the missing materials include HMX, a substance used in nuclear implosions. HMX is not radioactive, and cannot create a nuclear explosion without fissile material.

The missing substances, HMX and RDX in particular, are primarily used in warheads and plastic explosives like C-4. Military personnel believe resistors could cause a great deal of destruction if they acquire, or have already acquired, the missing explosives.

A spokesperson for the Pentagon, Larry DiRita, said that when the explosives were stolen – either before or after Saddam’s fall – is still unclear. Di Rita added that the Saddam government had lost control of the region just before the war and that the explosives were probably stolen during that time.