(Telegraph - UK) Michael Smith - Iraq is building a 33ft-long supergun capable of firing biological or chemical shells with equipment from German companies, German prosecutors said Wednesday. Two businessmen from Pforzheim will go on trial next January, accused of being the middlemen in an Iraqi operation to procure machine tools to drill the gun's barrel. The disclosure is further evidence of Saddam Hussein's attempts to build delivery systems for his weapons of mass destruction. The new gun, which has a 209mm bore, would have a range of more than 35 miles, twice that of the largest British artillery piece, and would pose a substantial threat to thousands of allied troops expected to be sent to Kuwait. "Guns of this calibre are capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction," the German prosecutors said.
2002-10-11 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive