The Timeline of Al Qa'qaa high explosives lists events regarding the storage and subsequent removal of high explosives at Al Qa'qaa in Iraq, leading to the Al Qa'qaa high explosives controversy. For events related to the political controversy, please refer to and use Al Qa'qaa high explosives controversy.
1991
Al Qa'qaa complex severely damaged during Gulf War.
June 9 - UNSCOM weapons inspectors begin inspections in Iraq, beginning the first inspection regime. This includes finding and sealing the HMX, RDX and PETN explosives at Al Qa'qaa.
1995
Charles Duelfer, a member of the UNSCOM inspections team in Iraq, urges the destruction of these HMX, RDX, and PETN explosives. The IAEA, headed by Hans Blix and assistant director Mohammed ElBaradei, rejects recommendations to destroy the stocks, opting rather to monitor them.
1998
December 16 - UNSCOM withdraws its staff from Iraq, ending the first weapons inspection regime.
2001
October 1 - Space Imaging Eurasia captures extensive satellite imagery of Al Qa'qaa, published by GlobalSecurity.org's Public Eye project
2002
November
November 27 - UNMOVIC weapons inspectors resume inspections in Iraq, beginning the second inspection regime.
December
December 9 - First new UN inspection of Al Qa'qaa facility. "An IAEA team at Al Qa'qaa began inventorying known explosive materials from the past nuclear programme that were previously under the control of the IAEA."
December 15 - IAEA inspectors visit Al Mahaweel Stores, where the RDX is stored.
2003
January
January 9 - Mohamed ElBaradei, IAEA director, reports publicly on Al Qa'qaa's HMX stores to the Security Council.
January 14 - IAEA inspectors visit Qa'qaa Stores, the location of the HMX explosives, located 60 km south of Baghdad.
January 15 - IAEA inspectors visit Al Mahaweel, under Al Qa'qaa jurisdiction, where the bulk of the RDX is stored.
February
February 14 - Mohamed Elbaradei reports to the Security Council that 32 tonnes of the HMX, previously under IAEA seal, were moved by Iraq between the two inspection regimes. They were apparently used for industrial purposes.
March
March 8 - Most recent visit by UN weapons inspectors to Al Qa'qaa, one of many visits prior to the war.
March 15 - The seals on the doors of the explosive stores are verified by IAEA inspectors.
March 15 to March 20 - Iraq is under heavy surveillance to detect the potential movement of WMDs pending the US invasion.
March 18 - UNMOVIC inspectors pull out of Iraq, ending the second inspections regime. They have not been allowed to return to date.
April 18 - News crew from KSTP-TV, embedded with the US 101st Airborne Division, films unguarded explosives and an unopened IAEA seal on a bunker door. Only HMX was sealed at the site.
May
Paul Bremer reportedly warned by Iraqi officials that Al Qa'qaa has probably been looted.
Internal IAEA memorandum reportedly warns that terrorists might be helping "themselves to the greatest explosives bonanza in history."
US Weapons Inspector David Kay visits Al Qa'qaa complex. He later says: "I saw it in May and it was heavily looted at that time. Sometime between April and May most of the stuff was carried off. The site was in total disarray."
May 27 - US 75th Exploitation Task Force reportedly visit Al Qa'qaa and finds the high explosives IAEA seals broken.
October 10 - Iraq Ministry of Science & Technology writes to IAEA: "We would like to inform you that the following materials... registered under the IAEA custody were lost after 9-4-2003, through the theft and looting of the governmental installations due to lack of security."
October 15 - IAEA warns the US mission in Vienna that the materials are missing.
October 28 - A Pentagon source maintains that a US Infantry division removed 250 tons of explosives from the site, shortly after the Iraq War
November
November 4 - L.A.Times reports that members of the 317th Support Center and the 258th Rear Area Operations CenterUS soldiers witnessed massive looting at Al Qa'qaa over several weeks in late April and early May.
