950827

Defector to name

foreigners linked

to Iraqi arms

programme

LONDON: An Iraqi officer who defected to Jordan this month is prepared to name people in Western companies who helped Baghdad set up its nuclear, biological and chemical war machine, the Observer reported on Sunday.

"Major Izzedine Mohammed Hassan...has a list of foreign experts who knowingly helped Iraq develop its arsenal," the paper said. "Izzedine was in charge of accompanying representatives of foreign companies who visited Baghdad to sell their know-how."

Izzedine defected to Jordan on August 8 with senior Iraqi officials General Hussein Kamel Hassan and Saddam Kamel Hassan and their wives, the daughters of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Hussein Kamel Hassan, a cousin of Izzedine, is considered the man behind Baghdad's nuclear military programme.-AFP