The promise came after US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said senior Iraqi leaders were fleeing to neighbouring Syria, which he said was continuing to send military assistance into Iraq.

"We will pursue former Iraqi leaders wherever they are," Myers told Abu Dhabi television news, in remarks translated into Arabic.

Asked if the US military would respect the diplomatic status of the Russian embassy in Baghdad if Iraqi President Saddam Hussein sought refuge there, as some reports suggested Wednesday, Myers said:

"As a soldier, if I come across an official of a regime with which we are at war, I will respect diplomatic immunity only if the person holds a diplomatic passport."

Russia earlier Wednesday denied reports it was sheltering Saddam in its embassy in Baghdad and called on the United States to ensure the safety of its diplomats there.

The speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, had suggested that Saddam could have found refuge in the embassy as US forces took control of the Iraqi capital.

SPACE.WIRE