WASHINGTON, July 7, 2008 (AFP) - At Iraq's request, the US military this year transferred hundreds of metric tons of yellowcake uranium from Iraq to Canada in a secret, weekslong operation, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday.

The 550 metric tons of uranium, which was sold to a Canadian company, was moved by truck convoy to Baghdad's 'Green Zone,' then flown by military aircraft to a third country where it was put on a ship for Canada, said Bryan Whitman, the spokesman.

'The operation was completed over the weekend, on Saturday,' Whitman said.