US troops find missiles near Saddam's hometown
( 2003-09-28 14:19) (Agencies)
U.S. troops said they had found surface-to-air missiles and hundreds of other weapons including plastic explosives buried in an orchard near Saddam Hussein's hometown on Saturday.
A U.S. military spokesman described the haul as one of the most significant weapons seizures of recent weeks and a sign of how Saddam loyalists were still equipped to pose a threat to U.S. forces.
He said 23 SA-7 surface-to-air missiles were found as well as 1,000 pounds of plastic explosives, 500 hand grenades, dozens of mortar bombs and hundreds of detonators which could be used to set off car bombs or other explosions.
Also discovered were rocket-propelled grenades similar to those used on Saturday in an attack on a Baghdad hotel housing officials of Iraq's U.S.-led administration.
"This was a significant find but is just one of the numerous weapons caches we know exist around the country," the spokesman told reporters.
He said the owner of the orchard, about 10 miles outside Tikrit, was closely linked to Saddam's ousted regime.
Troops were led to the cache by an informant. They had raided the orchard three days before but found only one weapon on that occasion, the spokesman said.
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