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Marines broke radioactive seal Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.csmonitor.com/newsinbrief/brieflies.html http://www.csmonitor.com/newsinbrief/brieflies.html Latest News in Brief Compiled from wire service reports by staff. WORLD Marines may have broken seals on known radioactive material Posted: Thursday, April 10, 5:48pm EDT American troops who suggested they uncovered evidence of an active nuclear weapons program in Iraq unwittingly may have stumbled across known stocks of low-grade uranium, officials said Thursday. They said the US troops may have broken UN seals meant to keep control of the radioactive material. Leaders of a US Marine Corps combat engineering unit claimed earlier this week to have found an underground network of laboratories, warehouses and bombproof offices beneath the closely monitored Tuwaitha nuclear research center just south of Baghdad. The Marines said they discovered 14 buildings at the site which emitted unusually high levels of radiation, and that a search of one building revealed "many, many drums" containing highly radioactive material. If documented, such a discovery could bolster Bush administration claims that Saddam Hussein was trying to develop nuclear weaponry. Lt. Cmdr. Charles Owens, a spokesman for the US Central Command, said officials there have not heard anything through military channels about a Marine inspection at Tuwaitha. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, which has inspected the Tuwaitha nuclear complex at least two dozen times and maintains a thick dossier on the site, had no immediate comment. But an expert familiar with UN nuclear inspections told The Associated Press that it was implausible to believe that US forces had uncovered anything new at the site. Instead, the official said, the Marines apparently broke UN seals designed to ensure the materials aren't diverted for weapons use, or end up in the wrong hands. "What happened apparently was that they broke IAEA seals, which is very unfortunate because those seals are integral to ensuring that nuclear material doesn't get diverted," the expert said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Another city falls mosul Army staged fall of hussein statue { July 3 2004 } Briefly draped american flag over statue Fall of mosul Firefight baghdad mosque one marine dead { April 10 2003 } I2188 2003Apr10L [jpg] Iraqi leaders nowhere { April 10 2003 } Iraqis cheer look baghdad { April 9 2003 } Kurdish take oil town kirkuk Marines broke radioactive seal Marines clash with iraqi fighters baghdad { April 10 2003 } Marines hurt suicide attack baghdad { April 10 2003 } Marines kill two children Mob kills cleric { April 10 2003 } Near riot southern city Pentagon flag draped biggest statue Redcross horrified Saddam betrayed baghdad fell theory Us may lower terror threat { April 9 2003 } Whos in charge iraqis ask { April 9 2003 } Wp iraqis celebrate { April 9 2003 } Files Listed: 21

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