Troops find missile arsenal

[Golden Half]

Troops find missile arsenal
From a correspondent with British troops near Basra
March 24, 2003

BRITISH troops outside Basra have discovered cruise missiles and warheads hidden inside fortified bunkers as part of a massive arsenal abandoned by Saddam Hussein's disintegrating southern army.

Cases of rockets, giant anti-shipping mines and other ammunition were piled from floor to ceiling in dozens of bunkers at what is marked on maps as the Az Zubaya Heliport.

The most disturbing find was two Russian-made Al-Harith anti-shipping cruise missiles, each 6m long and 1m in diameter, and nine warheads, hidden in two enormous reinforced concrete bunkers.

Another missile, as yet unidentified, was found still crated up at the rear of one of the bunkers.

Some of the boxes were clearly marked with the names of British manufacturers.

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_...5E1702,00.html