US searches Iraq 'ricin' base

US searches Iraq 'ricin' base

Thousands of Kurdish fighters assaulted the base

US and Kurdish forces are searching a camp in north-eastern Iraq which the Americans claim was a militant hideout used to manufacture poisons, including ricin.

The camp, which the Americans say belonged to Islamic radicals of the Ansar al-Islam group, lies in a Kurdish area near the border with Iran.

It was seized by US and Kurdish forces three days ago, following heavy attacks by coalition aircraft.

The US says Ansar al-Islam is closely linked to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

We are in there on the ground with lots of force, with some Kurdish help

General Richard Myers

The Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, said it could take a week to search the camp, which contained many tunnels.

He was unaware that any weapons of mass destruction had been found so far.

Bodies

An undisclosed number of camp defenders were killed during the operation, while others were captured.

General Myers said the bodies found there were neither Iraqi nor Iranian.

"We don't know for sure, but they're most likely al-Qaeda," he added.

A BBC Washington correspondent, Justin Webb, says a find of weapons of mass destruction would be enormously helpful to the coalition effort to convince the world of the necessity for the war in Iraq.

However, he adds that this particular base lies outside the area of Iraq which was fully controlled by Saddam Hussein before the war began.

Ricin is relatively easily made from castor beans. A few drops can kill.