"Since the transfer of power and the passage of certain sites to the responsibility of our ministry, all sites are protected," said Mohammad Jawad al-Shareh, director-general of the ministry of science and technology.

Shareh said in the aftermath of the US-led invasion in March 2003 "people snuck in and took some equipment and material," but that the situation had improved since the country regained its sovereignty at the end of June.

In an October 1 letter to the UN Security Council, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei said he was concerned that material and equipment, in some cases entire buildings housing sophisticated technology, are disappearing from Iraq.

The State Department acknowledged Tuesday that such items had been looted from Iraqi facilities after the invasion but maintained that "most, if not all," had been accounted for and that Iraqi authorities had acted to prevent further thefts.

An IAEA team visited Iraq two months ago to inspect sites, Shareh said, adding the agency had put equipment under seal and the government transferred the materials to heavily- guarded locations.

"We have asked the IAEA to furnish us with the list of equipment they recorded in 2003 so we can compare what we have with what existed before the war," he said.

Shareh said the ministry had asked the IAEA to help it decontaminate nuclear sites, including Tuwaitha, near Baghdad, which was ransacked by looters after the war.

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