Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, also left.

Blix and ElBaradei met Iraqi officials during the their two-day stay after the significant return of an advance team of 30 experts on Monday.

"(We had) constructive talks," Blix said before his departure.

At a press conference following talks with Iraqi officials late Tuesday, Blix noted "most inspections are no-notice inspections." "Inspections without forewarning will have highercredibility ... and that is in Iraq's interest," he added.

At the same conference, ElBaradei also confirmed that Iraq has promised to meet the Dec. 8 deadline to report its weapons programs.

"All Iraqi officials have committed to provide us full cooperation and full transparency," he said, adding that "they are working on that declaration and they will produce it by December 8."

Some of the UN advance team will stay behind to help prepare forthe full team of about a dozen inspectors, who are expected to arrive on around November 25 and start work two days later.

At full strength, there will be some 100 inspectors. By January27 they must have given their first report to the U.N.Security Council, which had demanded in a resolution on November 8 that theybe allowed to return to Iraq after a four-year gap.

UN Security Council recently adopted Resolution 1441, requiring Iraq provide, by Dec. 8, a "currently accurate, full and complete" declaration of all aspects of its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction and systems to deliver them.

"Further material breach" of Iraq's obligations would incur " serious consequences," the UN document warned.

The United States has accused Baghdad of possessing weapons of mass destruction and has threatened to launch a war against Iraq ifit does not disarm.

President George Bush has said the inspections are Baghdad's last chance to abandon peacefully its alleged chemical,biological and nuclear arms programmes.

(Xinhua News Agency November 20, 2002)