SYRIA: A Syrian firm, headed by a cousin of the country's leader, Mr Bashar al-Assad, signed contracts to supply millions of dollars in arms and equipment to Iraq before the United States invaded in March, the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday.
In the first of a two-part series written from Damascus, the newspaper reported that "1,000 heavy machine guns and up to 20 million bullets for assault rifles," supplied by SES International Corp., "helped Baghdad's ill-equipped army grow stronger before the war began in March. Some supplies may now be aiding the insurgency against the US-led occupation."
Files cited by the Times were taken from the abandoned office of Al Bashair Trading Co., by a reporter for the German magazine Stern shortly after US troops entered Baghdad.
The newspaper said it had the 800 signed contracts translated from Arabic and sought confirmation internationally during a three-month investigation.
Among the findings the Times reported:
A Polish company shipped up to 380 surface-to-air missile engines to Baghdad through Syria.
A South Korean firm shipped $8 million in telecommunications equipment for "air defence".
A Slovenian firm shipped 20 battle tank barrels to the Syrian firm early in 2002.
Two North Korean officials went to Damascus to discuss an Iraqi payment of $10 million for components for ballistic missiles.
According to the newspaper, a confidential UN report identifies Al Bashair as the biggest of 13 companies used to evade the UN arms embargo and other sanctions. It made deals for as much as $1 billion a year in the 90s.
Meanwhile, guerrillas set off a roadside bomb in a crowded Baghdad shopping district yesterday as US military vehicles drove past, killing one Iraqi civilian and wounding several others. The attack came as US-led forces launched raids across the country. A US military spokesman said more than 100 suspected guerrillas had been arrested since Monday.