"It's not expected that nuclear weapons could be used during the storming of Baghdad but all the same we should be ready given the direction of the prevailing winds," Defence Minister Mukhtar Altynbayev said.

"One rocket has landed in Turkey and another in Iran so we can't rule anything out," Altynbayev told AFP.

Since the Iraq war started, Kazakh air defences have been on high alert checking for any stray missiles along Kazakhstan's Caspian Sea coast, which lies some 600 kilometres (360 miles) northeast of Iraq and is home to Kazakhstan's nascent oil industry.

Kazakhstan has been stepping up anti-terrorism measures in recent months following warnings by the United States that energy industry infrastructure could be vulnerable.

SPACE.WIRE