The United Nations confirmed today that Iraq has destroyed nine more banned surface-to-surface missiles.
This brings to 28 the number of rockets scrapped under the supervision of UN weapons inspectors.
A spokesman in Baghdad said the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) had witnessed the destruction of nine more al-Samoud 2 missiles, whose range exceeds the 150 km (93 mile) limit allowed by UN resolutions.
Mr Hiro Ueki said in a statement that UNMOVIC experts had also conducted a private interview with an Iraqi scientist. Arms experts have asked Iraqi scientists to be interviewed about weapons programmes in private, in the hope that this will protect them from reprisals.
Iraq has offered new concessions relating to chemical and biological weapons. Baghdad said it would submit a new report on VX nerve gas and deadly anthrax stocks in a week.
Washington says President Saddam Hussein is doing the bare minimum on disarmament and maintains its threat to invade Iraq unless it disarms. Iraq denies it is developing banned weapons and says it is cooperating with the United Nations to disarm peacefully.
UN chief weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix is to report to the UN Security Council on Iraqi compliance on Friday.