Iraq: Protection Aids Against WMD Found in Iraq are Organic to Any Army

Protection aids used against weapons of mass destruction reportedly discovered in Iraq by American-British troops are organic to any army, Iraqi Information Minister Mohamed Said Al-Sahhaf said at a news conference in Baghdad on Friday.

He reiterated that the country's civilian population and residential areas are regularly hit by missiles and bombs. According to Al-Sahhaf, the claims that the American-Britain air force targets only administrative buildings and offices are untrue. Civilians constantly stay in these building, the minister noted, and they themselves adjoin the city's residential districts.

Al-Sahhaf totted up damage done to cities in nighttime bombing. The toll in Baghdad last night was 92 wounded and 7 killed, in Mosul 8 wounded. In Basra, the minister indicated, the total since the start of the operation has been 659 wounded and 116 killed. In Babylon on the day before, 82 civilians were injured and 26 killed.

Replying to questions, Al-Sahhaf emphasised that the southern Iraqi town of Umm-Qasr remains under Iraqi military control.