25 April 2004	Sunday	04 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

SOFIA, April 24: Bulgaria has acted to protect its 450 troops in the US-led force in Iraq from a threat of being poisoned by sabotaged food, Defence Minister Nikolai Svinarov told national radio on Saturday.

"Necessary steps were taken to guarantee the security of the contingent's food and drink rations after military intelligence warned there was a danger that supplies might be poisoned," he said. Bulgarian troops are stationed around Karbala, south of Baghdad.

The defence ministry also said that Sofia was not in a position to send more troops to Iraq, despite a request from US Secretary of State Colin Powell to consider dispatching more soldiers.

"Bulgaria cannot allow itself a greater involvement in Iraq, because it already has several missions abroad and does not have sufficient resources," foreign ministry spokeswoman Rumiana Strugarova told the Bgnes agency.

However she emphasized that Washington had not asked Sofia directly for more troops.-AFP