Kuwaiti Paper: Iraq Builds Underground Tunnels for Secret Research

Published August 5th, 2000 - 03:00 GMT

Iraq has built underground tunnels in the north of the country for "top secret research" believed to be linked to its banned weapons programs, a Kuwaiti newspaper charged on Saturday.

The research "to develop certain programs" has been going on for several months with the help of Russian experts, Al-Qabas said, quoting "informed Iraqi sources".

It said Iraq had dug a network of tunnels in Makhoul Mountain close to President Saddam Hussein's palaces in the Zawiya area near Kurdish-held Iraqi Kurdistan.

The entrance to the tunnels, dug at a depth of several hundred meters (yards), has been concealed by small buildings made to look like normal rural homes, according to Al-Qabas.

It said the area was clear of air defense missiles or other military installations so as to avoid detection by US spy satellites.

Soil recovered from digging the tunnel was taken at night to a valley 10 kilometers (six miles) away from the site and access is being restricted to senior officials for nighttime visits only.

The Iraqi sources told Al-Qabas the tunnels were designed for protection against even the most advanced US weapons - KUWAIT CITY (AFP)