Buried containers found near Karbala

Eleven containers buried close to an artillery ammunition plant in southern Iraq were discovered by U.S. troops Monday and could be dual-use chemical and biological laboratories, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Ben Freakley told CNN.

The 20-foot by 20-foot metal containers, which could be attached to semi-trucks or railway cars, were found by members of the 101st Airborne in Karbala. About 1,000 pounds of documentation was also found at the site, Freakley said. There was no evidence of weapons.

"They were close to an artillery ammunition plan, so this is consistent with the Iraqi denial, the former Iraqi leadership denial ... of any wrongdoing," Freakley said.

Maj. Trey Cate, a spokesman for the 101st, said the division found 11 shipping containers with lab equipment inside buried close to an ammunition factory near Karbala.

There have been previous reports of chemical weapons that turned out to be false alarms, including a site about 60 miles south of Karbala where a suspected nerve agent turned out to be pesticide.