Germany welcomed on Monday a decision by Iraq to begin destroying missiles banned by the United Nations for exceeding range limits but urged Baghdad to improve cooperation with UN arms inspectors.

"It's a step in the right direction. But it also shows that other moves have to be made," said foreign ministry spokesman Walter Lindner.

An Iraqi official said earlier on Monday that six more of the Al-Samoud 2 missiles had been scrapped and that at least one other was scheduled to be destroyed during the day.

Baghdad says it has about 100 of the missiles, which UN experts say are banned because they breach the 150-kilometre (93-mile) range limit set by UN resolutions.

Lindner also said Germany had noted Iraq's announcement that it would prepare a report for the United Nations on anthrax and the deadly VX nerve agent and that it should be submitted as soon as possible.

Iraq is expected to deliver in around a week the detailed report on the quantities of anthrax and VX it claims to have destroyed 11 years ago, a UN spokesman said Monday in Baghdad.

Germany is opposed to military action against Iraq and wants UN inspectors to be given more time to varify Baghdad's assertions that it has no weapons of mass destruction programme - Sapa-AFP