British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday that he was still confident that the US-led Iraqi Survey Group (ISG)would find what has happened to Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction,the major justification of the US-led war against Iraq.

"Of course I would like the Iraqi Survey Group to complete its work and to find whatever weapons (former Iraqi President)Saddam (Hussein)had,because one thing is beyond doubt,he had them,"Blair said in an interview with the BBC Arabic Service.

"I don't think it is surprising that we will have to look for them,but I simply say to you that he had them is beyond doubt,he used them,he used them against Iran,he used them against his own people,"Blair said.

"The evidence uncovered already is of a huge network of clandestine operations that are simply impossible to imagine without there actually being some purpose in these clandestine operations,and the purpose obviously was to conceal the weapons,"Blair added,referring to an announcement in October by the ISG,which said it had found a clandestine network of biological laboratories in Iraq.

However,the US-led team hunting for banned weapons in Iraq admitted that no hard evidence of biological,chemical or nuclear weapons was found in the country.

Blair,the staunchest US ally on Iraq,has sent about 45,000British troops to the US-led Iraq war on the grounds that Iraq's banned weapons has posed "imminent threat"to the international community.

In a separate interview with the British Forces Broadcasting Service,Blair also said that he hoped the capture of Saddam might lift the lid on his weapons program.

"There's obviously that possibility there,but I think in any event we have got to carry on doing the work we're doing,"Blair said.

"When a country with a ruler like Saddam tries to hide what it's doing,in a large country like Iraq,it's relatively easy to hide it.We've got to carry on until we find it,"Blair stressed.