OUR INTEL GUYS SUSPECT SADDAMISTS

U.S. officials suspect Saddam Hussein loyalists were behind the bombing of the U.N. Baghdad headquarters earlier this week.

A senior U.S. official told the Washington Post that was the prevailing opinion, ruling out Islamic militants as the perpetrators.

Citing intelligence gathered in Iraq, the official called the attack the latest sign of growing sophistication on the part of Saddam loyalists, who are thought to number in the thousands. After the fall of Baghdad April 9, soldiers were most often confronted by sniper attacks, he said, but a strategy has gradually and systematically evolved over the four months of the occupation.

"We believe it's homegrown," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "They're getting much more sophisticated in their attacks." He added: "There is no indication this is an outside group at this point."

BUT THEN, THE IRAQIS THINK DIFFERENTLY

Muslim extremists from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere were probably behind the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, a senior Iraqi official said today.

Jalal Talabani dismissed the idea that Saddam Hussein loyalists could have carried out the attack, saying they were “very weak”. And he said more attacks were likely.

“We think these activities are arranged by fundamentalist Muslims or so-called Muslim organisations like extremist Wahabis coming from Saudi Arabia,” and other countries in the region, he said.