Saddam is sheltering al-Qa'ida terrorists, claims Rice

Without providing any fresh evidence, the Bush administration continues to claim that there are operational links between Iraq and al-Qa'ida. The latest allegations were said to be based on information from al-Qa'ida prisoners in US custody.

President George Bush's national security adviser, Condoleeza Rice, became the latest senior official to make such claims when she said Iraq had been helping al-Qa'ida develop chemical weapons. She also said Saddam Hussein's regime was sheltering al-Qa'ida operatives in Baghdad.

"There clearly are contacts between al-Qa'ida and Iraq that can be documented, there clearly is testimony that some of the contacts have been important contacts and that there's a relationship here," Ms Rice said on national television on Wednesday.

"We clearly know that there have been contacts between senior Iraqi officials and members of al-Qa'ida going back for quite a long time. We know too that several of the al-Qa'ida detainees, in particular some high-ranking detainees, have said that Iraq provided some training to al-Qa'ida in chemical weapons development."

Ms Rice's comments are the strongest yet from the Bush administration as it tries to make the case linking Iraq to Osama bin Laden's organisation. Mr Bush and his Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, have made similar claims in recent days. US officials said Ms Rice's claim was significant because it marked the first time the administration had claimed that al-Qa'ida operated in areas of Iraq controlled by President Saddam.

* Ukraine invited the United Nations yesterday to investigate "groundless US charges" that Kiev sold a hi-tech radar to Iraq in violation of UN sanctions on Baghdad.