UN inspectors hunting for Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction started using helicopters on Tuesday, an Iraqi official said.
Witnesses said three UN helicopters took off from al-Rashid air base on the southeastern outskirts of Baghdad at about 4.30 a.m. (Irish time), escorted by two Iraqi aircraft. Their destination was not known.
The inspectors, who had been due to start helicopter flights last week, have six such aircraft, according to their spokesman, Mr Hiro Ueki.
They will use them to travel across the country and carry out aerial inspections. The flights were put off from last week for "technical reasons," according to Mr Ueki and Iraqi authorities.
AFP
