The joint team of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the UN said here that the process of destroying Syria's chemical weapons programme began Sunday.

 

 Under the supervision of experts from the OPCW and the UN, Syrian personnel used cutting torches and angle grinders to destroy or disable a range of items, including missile warheads, aerial bombs and mixing and filling equipment, Xinhua reported citing a statement from the team. 

 

 The process will continue in the coming days, it added. The international inspectors are monitoring, verifying and reporting on Syria's compliance with international demands to destroy chemical weapon stockpiles.

 

 The team arrived in Syria Tuesday and held meetings with Syrian foreign ministry officials before starting Sunday their ground work to find and dismantle an estimated 1,000 tonnes of chemical arsenal in Syria.The UN Security Council has ordered the OPCW to help Syria destroy its chemical weapons by mid-2014. 

 

 It had given the inspectors about nine months to complete their task. In a week, the OPCW mission will be expanded with the arrival of more investigators.