"We are taking seriously all reports about weapons falling into the
hands of terrorists and we are doing our best to follow up these reports,"
U.S. counter-terrorism coordinator Daniel Benjamin said.
The European Union and United States have sought to secure Gadhafi's
arsenals, particularly those of Scuds and weapons of mass destruction.
Diplomats said the biggest fear was that the Scuds could fall into the hands
of Al Qaida.
"We are in a state of war, and Gadhafi definitely left some weapons and
mines," Libyan rebel Gen. Omar Hariri said.
Diplomats said it was uncertain how many Scuds were in the possession of
the rebels. The United States has estimated that Gadhafi stored 400 Scud
Bs, many of them believed inoperable.
During the six-month war, Gadhafi fired at least four Scuds toward
rebel positions. At a missile site about 25 kilometers southeast of Tripoli,
a Scud B was left unsecured and became an attraction for sight-seers. The
Scud
contains a one-ton conventional warhead.
"We have a group of military engineers who are specialized in finding
out and digging out such weapons and such mines," Hariri said. "It is only a
matter of days before we are clearing all of these mines and gathering
Gadhafi's weapons."
"They [Al Qaida] gained access to weapons, either small arms or
machine-guns, or
certain surface-to-air missiles which are extremely dangerous because they
pose a risk to flights over the territory," EU counter-terrorism coordinator
Gilles de Kerchove said.
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