Iraqi officers who defected to Western Europe say the Saddam Hussein regime has obtained three shipments of Czech-made medium-range Scud-class missiles.
The sources said the weapons are of Czech-origin that were meant for
export to Syria and Yemen. From Syria, the missiles, surface-to-air
missiles, rockets and guidance systems were smuggled to Iraq.
The defectors said the first of three weapons shipments bound for Iraq
arrived in the Syrian port of Latakia on Feb. 23. The first delivery was
said to have cost Baghdad $800,000, according to Middle East Newsline.
The London-based Guardian reported on Monday that the shipments arrived
over the last six months as part of Iraq's efforts to bolster its military
against any U.S. attack.
"We know that two more shipments are on the way, but we don't know if
they have already arrived," said Gen. Nawaf Malki, an Iraqi officer who
defected and a leader of the U.S.-supported Iraqi Officers' Movement.
The information provided by the defectors matches earlier assertions by
U.S. intelligence sources. The sources have told the Bush administration and
Congress that Syria has become the leading conduit to Iraq for imports
banned by the United Nations. They include weapons and dual-use systems from
such countries as Belarus, Czech, Poland, Slovenia and the Ukraine.
The defectors said the missiles were manufactured in the Czech Republic
and sent to Syria and Yemen. Iraqi intelligence officers supervised the
unloading of the weapons at Latakia and their overland transfer to Iraq.
The newspaper quoted a document provided by the defectors that said the
Saddam regime wants to develop a radar system capable of detecting U.S.
stealth warplanes. Salahaddin Enterprise, an electronics plant at Al Daur,
about 130 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, reported a successful prototype
on March 25 and Saddam has ordered production of 150 radars.
