The missile was found on Friday along with five mobile rocket launchers in Baghdad after a tip-off from locals, Brigadier General Vincent Brooks told reporters.

Special operations forces seized the planes when they entered Al-Assad air base in western Iraq, he said, adding that the jets were appparently undamaged despite the fact that the base had been targeted in earlier coalition attacks.

They also found two drones, or pilot-less planes, at a phosphate plant in Al-Qaima, also in the west, he said.

Brooks gave no further details on any of the seized weapons or planes.

Al-Samoud missiles violate UN Security Council resolution 687 with a flight range exceeding 150 kilometres (93 miles).

Centcom has said at least one Al-Samoud 2 missile was fired at neighbouring Kuwait since the beginning of the war on March 20.

UN arms inspectors charged with disarming Iraq successfully oversaw the destruction of most of the 100-120 Al-Samoud 2 missiles Baghdad said it had produced. The inspectors were forced to pull out of Iraq on March 18 in the face of the imminent war.

On March 17, Baghdad had scrapped 72 of the missiles in what was considered the most tangible sign of its cooperation with UN disarmament resolutions.

SPACE.WIRE