Iraq's national security advisor warned Sunday that "dangerous materials" that could be used by terrorists in the manufacture of so-called dirty bombs might remain in the country despite the US-led coalition's failure to find any banned weapons.
Muwaffaq al-Rubaie said his interim government had evidence some might already have been smuggled out during the anarchy that followed last year's US-led invasion.
"This is a huge country ... I cannot put my hand on my heart and say that cross my heart, wish to die, that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction," Rubaie told reporters.
"We have intelligence information and proof that during the height of the crisis last year and afterwards vehicles carrying suspicious materials crossed the country's borders."
Rubaie declined to detail the nature of the materials or their destination but said the smuggling was made possible by the "security vacuum" in the country following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in April last year.