General denies Iraq shipped nerve agent to al-Qa'ida

An Iraqi general dismissed as ridiculous yesterday an American report that an Iraqi chemical weapon was delivered to an Islamic extremist group linked to al-Qa'ida.

"They know very well we have no prohibited material or activities, and all the stockpiles have been destroyed," Lieutenant-General Hossam Mohammed Amin said.

The Washington Post quoted "two officials with first-hand knowledge" who said the Bush administration had received a credible report that Islamic militants affiliated with al-Qa'ida had acquired a chemical weapon – suspected to be the nerve agent VX – in Iraq in October or November. "We are used to hearing such reports from the enemies of Iraq," Lt-Gen Amin said, naming US and Israeli intelligence agencies.

But other unnamed US officials were quoted by the newspaper as saying that the report might have been based on a hypothetical case raised in a recent American military communication.