Iraqi opposition ‘held meetings with US officials’

An exiled Iraqi opposition group that wants to increase its intelligence activities inside the country said it had held meetings with an ex-CIA chief and US State Department officials in London.

Iraqi National Congress officials met former CIA Director James Woolsey in London several weeks ago, group spokesman Sharif Ali Bin Al Hussein said in Washington.

Al Hussein, who sits on the INC leadership council, said he was not at the meeting and did not know what had been discussed.

It was reported on Saturday that the two sides talked about alleged links between Saddam Hussein’s Government and the September 11 terror attacks.

US officials have blamed the attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon on Osama bin Laden and al Qaida, saying that they had no evidence of an Iraqi role.

Woolsey said in Washington that he had visited London shortly after the attacks. Asked if he had met the INC, he replied: ‘‘I have nothing to say about what advice I give to our Government. I serve on a number of panels.’’

The INC, an umbrella organisation of Iraqi opposition groups seeking to oust Saddam Hussein, wants the United States to fund its activities inside Iraq, including intelligence gathering.

The INC claims Iraqi defectors say the Government directly sponsors and trains terrorists. The United States has named Iraq among the nations that sponsor terrorism.