Chemical weapons: Neither British nor American sources would confirm yesterday reports that US troops advancing on Baghdad had uncovered a chemical munitions dump in the city of Najaf.
The discovery, if true, could have a dramatic effect on public opinion over the war.
The suggestions originated with journalists travelling with the US 3rd Infantry Division, which on Sunday reached the outskirts of Najaf, south of Baghdad. According to one reporter, Caroline Glick writing in The Jerusalem Post, a chemical munitions facility was indeed found.
"The huge 100-acre complex, which is surrounded by a electrical fence, would be the first illegal chemical plant to be uncovered by US troops in their current mission in Iraq," she reported.
"The surrounding barracks resemble an abandoned slum. It wasn't immediately clear exactly which chemicals were being produced here, but clearly the Iraqis tried to camouflage the facility so it could not be photographed aerially by swathing it in sand-cast walls to make it look like the surrounding desert.
"Within minutes of our entry into the camp on Sunday afternoon, at least 30 Iraqi soldiers and their commanding officer of the rank of general, obeyed the instructions of US soldiers who called out from our jeep in loudspeakers for them to lie down on the ground, and put their hands above their heads to surrender."
The report was also broadcast by the American TV channel Fox News, which is backing President Bush's policy on Iraq.
On Sunday, Pentagon sources were supportive of the reports, confirming them in general terms.
However, the Iraqis dismissed the claims. Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said yesterday: "This factory was visited by [UN weapons\] inspectors. It's just a small and isolated factory used for civilian purposes," he insisted.
The Secretary General of the UN, Mr Kofi Annan, said that inspectors would return to Iraq as soon as possible to investigate.
The UN disarmament agency, UNMOVIC, "still has the responsibility for the disarmament of Iraq, and if the situation permits, they will be expected to go back to Iraq and inspect," Mr Annan told reporters.
In Cyprus, the UNMOVIC spokesman, Mr Hiro Ueki, said the Najaf site was on a list of facilities due to have been searched just as inspectors left Iraq prior to the start of war.
"It was on our list but was not inspected. The understanding was that the site was not operational and therefore it was not a high priority for inspection."
Meanwhile, the US says it has reports that Iraqi commanders have been authorised to use chemical weapons against Shia Muslims in the south of the country and blame the attacks on US forces.
A State Department official said the reports led Washington to believe that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had given such authority to one of his top generals, Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as "Chemical Ali", who is blamed for the poison gas attack 15 years ago in the Kurdish town of Halabja.