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Poland Confirms Iraqi Weapons Contained Cyclosarin


2 July 2004 -- Poland's military confirmed today that artillery shells and rocket warheads collected by Polish troops in Iraq contained the deadly nerve agent cyclosarin.

The head of Polish army intelligence, General Marek Dukaczewski, told a news conference in Warsaw that Polish soldiers purchased the 17 rockets and two mortar shells filled with chemicals in late June from unidentified individuals in south-central Iraq.

Poland said tests conducted by U.S. experts showed they contained cyclosarin -- most likely left over from Iraq's war with Iran in the 1980s.

But the U.S. military says only two of the rockets had tested positive for sarin gas.

The reason for the discrepancy is unclear.

(Reuters, AFP)

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