Pigeons to warn of chemical attack

The birds are intended to be the military equivalent of a canary in a coal mine, warning of the presence of nerve and chemical agents.

"They're an extra sensor," Staff Sergeant Dan Wallace of the Marines of the 7th Regiment told Reuters news agency.

The pigeons will travel around in tanks with a designated handler.

Pigeon warning

Any sudden death could indicate a chemical attack and give the marines a chance to put on their gas masks.

The US says that Iraq has chemical and biological weapons and may be prepared to use them.

Troops stationed in the Gulf have been vaccinated against anthrax and smallpox and have gas masks belted to their hips at all times.

Masks are carried at all times

They have also been issued with suits fitted with special charcoal linings, rubber boots and gloves, atropine to counteract nerve gas and packets of charcoal to deactivate any chemicals that may have landed on them.

They also have sensors made of chemical-sensitive tape and paper to detect a chemical attack.

But attempts to recruit feathered friends to the cause have not so far met with much luck.

The Marines of the 7th Regiment were given 43 chickens to raise which, like the pigeons, would warn them of any chemical attack.

In less than two weeks, all but one of the chickens died - although no foul play was suspected.

'Mineral water'

Lieutenant Colonel Michael Belcher does not want the pigeons to suffer the same fate.

He said the birds were being given mineral water and special "pigeon-qualified personnel" had been chosen to care for them.

In the First and Second World Wars, pigeons carried messages across enemy lines.

Some were even awarded medals.

If the Gulf pigeons survive, Colonel Belcher told AP news agency: "We'll release them in Baghdad like doves".