GAO: Looted Munitions Pose New Threat (Military Failed to Secure Iraqi Munitions Sites)

By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer
14 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Explosives looted from Iraq munitions sites probably will continue to support terrorist attacks throughout the region, a congressional report said Thursday. It said some sites were still not secure more than 3 1/2 years after the war started.

Failure to guard the sites "has been costly," the Government Accountability Office report said, noting looted munitions are being used to make roadside bombs, the No. 1 killer of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

The report is an unclassified version of a classified study compiled from November 2005 through October 2006. At the time it was completed, U.S. commanders in Iraq "stated that some remote sites have not been revisited to verify if they pose any residual risk, nor have they been physically secured."

"Estimates indicate that the looted munitions will likely continue to support terrorist attacks throughout the region," the report said. The military "has taken many actions" in response to the problem but they're only "good first steps" that need to be encased in procedures for the future, it said.

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