A letter sent to the United Nations by Iraqi Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim pertaining to the takeover of a chemical weapons facility has been made public.
On June 12, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took over the depot, but weapons of mass destruction held in two bunkers still had not yet been destroyed.
“The project management spotted at dawn on Thursday, 12 June 2014, through the camera surveillance system, the looting of some of the project equipment and appliances, before the terrorists disabled the surveillance system,” Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim wrote in the letter dated June 30 to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Reuters reported Tuesday.
The ambassador implores U.N. members to “understand” the nation’s predicament.
“The Government of Iraq requests the States Members of the United Nations to understand the current inability of Iraq, owing to the deterioration of the security situation, to fulfill its obligations to destroy chemical weapons,” Mr. Ali Alhakim wrote, Reuters reported.
When initial reports about the Muthanna facility north of Baghdad surfaced in June, U.S. Defense Department spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said that the materials found there were “not likely” to be used against anyone.
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• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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