Iraq plans to sue the British company that sold it bomb detectors widely panned as ineffective after they failed to prevent a series of massive bombings in Baghdad, a spokesman said Tuesday.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told AFP that Baghdad wanted financial compensation for the devices, which are used at checkpoints across the country to detect explosives.
“More than 50 percent are good, and the rest we will change,” he said, referring to the proportion of the detectors found to be defective after an investigation ordered by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
“We will sue the British company that sold them to us to get our money back,” he added, but declined to name the specific company in question or provide any further details.
British firm ATSC manufactured and sold the device, the ADE651, to Iraq.
Its director Jim McCormick was arrested by British police on suspicion of fraud by misrepresentation earlier this year. He was bailed pending further investigation.
In January, Britain banned the export of the ADE651 device after tests showed it was not suitable for bomb detection.
The ADE651 is a hand-held, pistol-shaped piece of equipment which uses a series of interchangeable credit card size paper cards said to be able to detect explosives such as C4 and TNT, as well as weapons.
It was reputedly sold for between 16,500 and 60,000 dollars per unit, and has become ubiquitous in Iraq, having been bought in large numbers by local security forces.
