WASHINGTON, July 7: The United States has secretly removed more than 1.7 tons of enriched uranium and other radioactive material from Iraq that could potentially be used to manufacture a "dirty" radiological bomb or support a nuclear weapons program , the government announced on Tuesday.

The move came before the June 28 handover of power from the US-led authority of occupying powers to Iraq's interim government now formally charged with running the country.

"This operation was a major achievement for the Bush administration's goal to keep potentially dangerous nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists," Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said in a statement. "It also puts this material out of reach for countries that may seek to develop their own nuclear weapons."

The operation, which took place last month, involved 20 US nuclear experts from the Energy Department's secret laboratories as well as an undisclosed number of US troops.

Working at Iraq's former nuclear complex, the team packaged the low-enriched uranium and roughly 1,000 other highly radioactive devices, loaded them on a military plane and hauled to the United States on June 23.

The enriched uranium will be stored temporarily at an undisclosed Department of Energy facility, while the devices will be further examined at a US government laboratory, officials said.

The department said the operation was consistent with "relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions" and aimed to "ensure the safety and security of the Iraqi people".

Radiological sources that could be used for medical, agricultural or industrial purposes have been repackaged but have not been removed, the officials said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency and Iraqi officials were briefed in advance about US plans. IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said in Tel Aviv the agency had sent a letter to the UN Security Council notifying it of the removal.

The administration of President George Bush has repeatedly accused Iran of running a clandestine nuclear weapons program, but there was no immediate word whether Iranians had tried to gain access to the Iraqi complex.

The nuclear research complex at Al Tuwaitha, southeast of Baghdad, played a key role in an Iraqi drive to illicitly build nuclear weapons prior to the 1991 invasion. It was dismantled in the early 1990s under UN ceasefire resolutions ordering Iraq to abandon its quest for weapons of mass destruction. The June 28 transfer of power has made it the responsibility of Iraq's ministry of science and technology. -AFP