Saddam's son confirms Iraq terror base

From WILLIAM LOWTHER, in Washington

Islamic terrorists linked to Al Qaeda have set up a base in Northern Iraq, Saddam Hussein's son confirmed last night.

The revelation backs US beliefs that Saddam is providing a safe haven for Osama Bin Laden's terror network.

If Washington can prove Saddam is supporting the group - known as Jund al-Islam, or Soldiers of Islam - and thus indirectly helping Al Qaeda, it will be powerful ammunition to back President George W. Bush's plans to invade Iraq next spring and topple the despot.

Senior Washington diplomats said: 'If there really is a link between Saddam and Al Qaeda, that would probably be enough to persuade the allies to support an attack on Iraq.'

However, like so much else connected to Saddam, the issue is murky, for Odai Hussein claimed not only that Baghdad was opposed to Jund al-Islam but also that the group had no connection with Al Qaeda terrorists.

Last week US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Al Qaeda terrorists were being given refuge in Iraq, but according to Odai, Jund al-Islam is being supported by Iraq's old enemy, Iran, and has taken over an area in Iraq controlled by the Kurds and not by Saddam.

Kurdish leaders say they are in constant clashes with the group but have been unable to defeat them.

Jund al-Islam soldiers are known to have trained in Afghanistan alongside Al Qaeda guerrillas and US intelligence is convinced that senior members of Al Qaeda have found sanctuary in Northern Iraq.

The US also believes, but cannot prove, that Saddam has provided support for Jund al-Islam as a way to counter the Kurds whom he has long opposed.

Britain and the US still patrol a no-fly zone over northern Iraq to stop Saddam's army from attacking Kurdish strongholds.

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