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(Vienna, Austria-AP) -- U-S troops in Iraq may have unknowingly broken U-N seals meant to control radioactive material.
Some Marines have suggested they uncovered evidence of an active nuclear weapons program in Iraq. But today, officials said they may have unwittingly stumbled across known stocks of low-grade uranium.
This week, leaders of a Marine combat engineering unit said they found a network of laboratories beneath a nuclear research center south of Baghdad.
But an expert familiar with U-N nuclear inspections told The Associated Press it was implausible to believe that U-S forces had uncovered anything new at the site. The official says the Marines apparently broke U-N seals designed to ensure the materials aren't diverted for weapons use -- or end up in the wrong hands.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
