Today's Date:

Rocket attack against the Rashid Hotel, Baghdad, on October 27, 2003 , Press allegations regarding the use of French made rockets.

Paris, October 28, 2003

Reports appearing in certain dailies alleging that 68 mm rockets of French origin may have been used in the attack against the Rashid Hotel elicit the following observations:

- Between 1979 and 1987, Iraq acquired large quantities of French-made 68 mm rockets for use with helicopters in the context, notably, of its war with Iran, during which it imported weapons from numerous countries.

- It cannot be ruled out that some of those rockets, now nearing the end of their operational life, may have been recovered by Iraqi armed groups and used with home-made launchers. That Iraq had significant stockpiles of weapons of very different origins is a known fact.

-No rocket exports to Iraq have been authorized since 1987. Furthermore, we have no knowledge of illegal transfers or diversions of such materials to Iraq from third countries.

-France is naturally prepared to fully cooperate in an effort to determine the provenance and delivery date of the rockets used in the attack.