Over the last two years, Iraq has ordered large quantities of atropine, an unnamed official told The New York Times.

If the Iraqis were going to use nerve agents, they would want to take steps to protect their own soldiers, if not their population

US Official

The drug can be used to counter the effects of nerve gas, raising the possibility that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is trying to protect his soldiers if chemical weapons are used in the battlefield.

"If the Iraqis were going to use nerve agents," the newspaper quoted one official as saying, "they would want to take steps to protect their own soldiers, if not their population.

"This is something that US intelligence is mindful of and very concerned about."

Atropine is used in hospitals to resuscitate heart attack victims, but the orders are said to surpass the amounts needed for normal medical use.

Iraq is said to have ordered a million doses of the drug, along with the injectors that supply the drug to the user's leg.

Concerns raised

The bulk purchases have set alarm bells ringing among chemical weapons experts, intelligence analysts and senior White House officials, who argue that atropine is normally given to heart attack victims intravenously and in much smaller doses, the New York Times said.

The main suppliers of the drugs being sent to Iraq are said to be based in Turkey.

The US is prepared to attack if arms inspectors are not re-admitted

The Bush administration official said the Turkish Government has been urged to stop the sales.

Turkey has reportedly indicated to the US State Department that it is willing to review the matter.

US President George W Bush has approved a tentative Pentagon strategy for attacking Iraq if the country fails to allow a new UN arms inspection effort fail to rid the nation of weapons of mass destruction.

The plan calls for between 200,000 and 250,000 troops to invade Iraq by land, sea and air, administration officials say.