Location: Baghdad (Jadiriyah complex)
Short Descriptor: Procurement of BW equipment (as front organization); BW research (?)
Details:
In February 1985, BW research started at Al-Muthanna involving Dr. Rihab Taha. Iraq provided documents citing her transfer from the University of Baghdad to Al-Muthanna.
In 1985, Iraq acquires BW agents and simulants. In 1985, 1986, and 1988, a range of agents required to support the program were acquired or attempted to be acquired, from a number of foreign sources, including the American Type Tissue Collection (ATCC) and Pasteur Institute. Local acquisition also occurred. The 12 May declaration provides the year of import, using the University of Baghdad as a cover.
Other Information:
...Work on the physiology of clostridia bacteria was begun at the University of Baghdad... [1]
...In the course of the first years of the project, the Iraqis were probably engaged in preliminary research and in the course of time, they formulated a list of priority biological agents for production as BW. For this purpose, bacteria strains were purchased by the University of Baghdad and Technical and Scientific Materials Import Division (TSMID), which operated jointly as procurement agents for the project. The list included the following strains: 1. Bacillus anthracis; 2. Clostridium botulinum (types a, e, f); 3. Francisella tularensis; 4. Brucella abortus; 5. B. melitensis; 6. Clostridium perfringens... [2]
Key Sources:
[1] GulfLINK, "Status and Background on Iraq Biological Warfare Program," CIA, February 1992, File: cia_70570_70570_01.txt.
[2] GulfLINK, "Biological Weapons," September 1991, File: 062096_cia_65657_65641_01.txt.
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Updated February 2006 |
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