(Fox News) A 7-pound block of cyanide salt was discovered by U.S. troops in Baghdad at the end of January in what was believed to be the safe house of Abu Musab Zarqawi, a poisons specialist described by some U.S. intelligence officials as having been a key link between deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and the al-Qaeda terror network. Cyanide salts are extremely toxic. Exposure to even a small amount through contact or inhalation can cause immediate death. Zarqawi is believed to have begun establishing terror cells in and around Baghdad prior to the start of the war last March, and is thought by U.S. officials to still be in the country. U.S. officials also believe he had been attempting to produce large quantities of the toxin ricin in northern Iraq.
2004-02-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive