Washington — U.S. forces in Iraq found three kilograms of cyanide during a raid late last month on a Baghdad house believed to be connected to an al-Qaeda operative, U.S. officials said.
The cyanide salt was in either one or several small bricks, and U.S. officials said they believe it was to have been used in an attack on U.S. or allied interests. Cyanide is extremely toxic and can be used as a chemical weapon, although it was unclear if the cyanide was in a form that could easily be used that way.
The raid took place on Jan. 23, a defence official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. It was unclear if anyone was captured in the raid. Parts for making bombs also were found in the house, the official said.
The house was inhabited by a suspected subordinate of Abu Musab Zarqawi, U.S. officials said. Mr. Zarqawi is a Jordanian whom CIA officials have described as a senior associate of Osama bin Laden.
Mr. Zarqawi is believed to have tried to direct al-Qaeda operations inside Iraq, although it was unknown if he was still in the country.
He also is connected with Ansar al-Islam, an Islamic extremist group from northern Iraq. He and his followers are believed to have sought cyanide and other chemical weapons for use in attacks in the past, U.S. officials say.
U.S. officials say they have mounting evidence to suggest Mr. Zarqawi has had a hand in multiple attacks in Iraq, including those on a mosque in Najaf, the UN headquarters in Baghdad and Italy's paramilitary police station in Nasiriyah.
Another alleged al-Qaeda member, Hassan Ghul, detained this year while trying to enter northern Iraq, is believed to have met with Zarqawi to plan attacks against U.S. and coalition forces, said another U.S. official on condition of anonymity.
Now in U.S. custody, Mr. Ghul is believed to be co-operating with interrogators. He is known as a facilitator who can move people and money around and is the highest-ranking member of al-Qaeda to have been arrested in Iraq.
The U.S. official said Mr. Ghul also is thought to have worked closely with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who officials say masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
The official said attacks in Iraq for which Zarqawi is a suspect include a truck bomb in August that hit UN headquarters in Baghdad, killing 23 people; a car bomb that exploded outside a mosque in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf that killed more than 85; and a suicide truck bombing in November that devastated Italy's paramilitary police headquarters in southern city of Nasiriyah, killing more than 30.
