IAEA still probing Syria bomb

2008-11-19 20:35

Vienna - The UN atomic watchdog cannot yet determine if a building in a remote site in the Syrian desert destroyed by Israeli planes last year was intended for nuclear use, the IAEA said in a report on Wednesday.

"While it cannot be excluded that the building in question was intended for non-nuclear use, the features of the building ... along with the connectivity of the site to adequate pumping capacity of cooling water are similar to what may be found in connection with a reactor site," the IAEA said.

The comments were included in a restricted report, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.

The United States claims that the site, known alternatively as either al-Kibar or Dair Alzour, which was razed to the ground by Israeli planes in September 6 2007, was a nuclear facility built with North Korean help and close to becoming operational.

But the International Atomic Energy Agency's first report on the site was "not conclusive", a senior UN official told journalists.

IAEA inspectors had found "a significant number of natural uranium particles" in environmental samples taken from the site.

But the agency was not yet in a position to explain the origin of the particles, the UN official said.

Syria claims the traces were residue from Israeli missiles used to bomb the area.

The IAEA said it was "assessing Syria's explanation of the origin of the uranium particles found at the Dair Alzour site".

It added that it "intends to request Syria to permit the agency to, inter alia, visit the locations where the debris from the building and any equipment removed from the Dair Alzour site are, for the purpose of taking samples.

"The Agency also intends to request Israel to provide information pertaining to Syria's claims regarding the origin of the uranium particles."

- AFP