WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD, 8 January 2003 — International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed El-Baradei sought "more specific information" from Washington on Iraq’s banned arms as the United States poured planes and ships into the Gulf for a potential war.

The administration of President George W. Bush is "sharing information, but I think we need more information," El-Baradei told ABC television.

"We’ve been getting general information, but we need more specific information to act on," he said.

The IAEA chief said UN arms inspectors still need "a few months" to complete their work in Iraq, adding that "it is too early to come to a conclusion."

"I think we still need a few months before we can reach that conclusion," he said.

UN inspectors, meanwhile, used helicopters for the first time yesterday as they expanded their hunt for Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction, which earned them a charge of spying from President Saddam Hussein.

The charge was dismissed by both the inspectors’ spokesman and the United States, which has called up nearly 20,000 army reservists and National Guard troops as part of war preparations.

A dozen experts flew from Baghdad, where the UN inspectors have their headquarters, in the early hours yesterday to a phosphate plant near Al-Qaim, some 400 km west of the capital, close to the border with Syria, an AFP photographer reported.

The team flew to the town aboard three white-painted helicopters marked "UN," escorted by two Iraqi helicopters.

In another development, Britain called up reserve forces yesterday for a possible Iraq war and said it had authorized a "significant" amphibious force to be sent to the region if needed. Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon told Parliament about 1,500 reservists would initially be mobilized but others would be called up if necessary.

But he joined ranks of British ministers, on and off the record, in insisting an attack on Iraq was not inevitable.

"This does not mean that a decision has been taken to commit British forces to such operations," he said.

Britain has placed a massive charter order for 20 merchant ships to haul armor and supplies to the Gulf, shipping sources said yesterday.

The order comes on top of seven vessels requested in late December, the sources said, heightening speculation that Britain was readying to deploy a major force.

"No one expected them to take this sort of volume," one industry source told Reuters, explaining that the charter requests were subject to Ministry of Defense (MoD) approval. "That’s a serious amount of tonnage — there are all sorts of vessels requested that are in train," said the source who is familiar with MoD chartering and operations.

A broker who sits on the MoD-approved industry panel charged with hiring ships for the British government confirmed the large order but declined to specify what ships had been requested. There was no immediate comment from the Defense Ministry but a Royal Navy source told Reuters that the MoD would be looking for many more ships through January and February to move tanks and other heavy supplies.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi Army said yesterday two civilians were killed and 13 injured when US and British planes bombed southern Iraq on Monday. (Agencies)