US 'loses track' of Iraq weapons
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The US military cannot account for 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to the Iraqi security forces, an official US report says.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the Pentagon cannot track about 30% of the weapons distributed in Iraq over the past three years.
The Pentagon did not dispute the figures, but said it was reviewing arms deliveries procedures.
About $19.2bn has been spent by the US since 2003 on Iraqi security forces.
GAO, the investigative arm of the US Congress, said at least $2.8bn of this money was used to buy and deliver weapons and other equipment.
Correspondents say it is now feared many of the weapons are being used against US forces on the ground in Iraq.
The Iraqi interior ministry has blamed the Americans for the disappearance of the weapons.
A spokesman, Brigadier General Abd-al-Karim Khalaf, told the BBC his ministry had not been consulted over the distribution. He also said there was no evidence to suggest that insurgents might have got hold of some of the weapons.
Full story from the BBC
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