§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their response to the reports from the Pentagon that the contents of the bunkers at Kamisiyah in southern Iraq, destroyed by US troops in March 1991, contained chemical weapons, including sarin and mustard gas.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Earl Howe)The Iraqi chemical warfare capability was well known at the time of the Gulf War and has been subsequently confirmed by UN investigations. The incident at Kamisayah is being investigated by the US authorities, but it is understood that US troops involved were 5km from the bunkers when they were detonated. A preliminary study of the health of those involved shows that there is nothing at present to suggest they were exposed to chemical agents. No British forces were in the vicinity of the Kamisayah bunkers.