Faruq Hijazi, whose last official post was Saddam Hussein's ambassador to the North African nation, flew to Damascus from Tunis on a commercial jet in an apparent attempt to seek refuge in the country following the toppling of the Iraqi government by US forces, said one of the US officials, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity.

"I don't know whether he has been granted refuge or asylum," the official added.

The discovery was certain to fuel new recriminations between the United States and Syria, which has already been accused of smuggling war materiel into Iraq, allowing foreign Islamic fighters, including members of Hezbollah, to cross its borders, and providing aid and comfort to former Saddam associates fleeing Baghdad.

US officials said "at least a handful" of former members of the Iraqi elite are currently in Syria, but did not offer any specifics.

Damascus has vehemently denied all charges.

US President George W. Bush has used the plot to kill his father as one of the reasons for launching military action against Iraq, referring to Saddam Hussein, in a speech in Houston, Texas, last September, as "the guy who tried to kill my dad."

The multi-stage plot, in which Hijazi is believed to have taken an active part, was uncovered by US and Kuwaiti intelligence services in the first half of 1993.

It called for exploding several powerful bombs during Bush's visit to Kuwait in April of that year, his first after the country's liberation from Iraqi occupation by a US-led international coalition in 1991.

A remote-controlled car bomb was reportedly supposed to detonate during Bush's triumphant arrival in Kuwait City.

In case the first attack failed, a second car bomb was to be parked near a theater where the former US president, revered in Kuwait as its liberator, was scheduled to receive an honorary doctorate, according to sources familiar with the case.

In addition, a suicide bomber was supposed to strike, if the first two attacks did not work.

Following the capture of several key people involved in the plot by Kuwaiti authorities, and an analysis of the bombs, the US Central Intelligence Agency and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation concluded that the explosives were Iraqi-made and that Saddam's intelligence service was behind the conspiracy.

US president Bill Clinton -- George Bush's successor -- ordered the US Navy to launch 23 Tomahawk cruise missiles against the headquarters of the Iraqi intelligence service in retaliation in late June 1993.

According to a US official, Hijazi was the third-ranking member of the Iraqi intelligence service at the time of the plot.

"He was certainly believed to have been involved in the planning work," said the US official.

Whether Hijazi's diplomatic post in Tunisia was just a cover for new clandestine activities remains unclear.

"He may well still be associated with Iraqi intelligence," one of the officials argued. "But it's hard to say."

There have been media reports Hijazi has once met with Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaeda terror network responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United states that claimed more than 3,000 lives.

But "the US government was not able to substantiate that," the official stressed.

Despite Hijazi's alleged involvement in some of the darkest deeds of the toppled Iraqi regime, he was not included into the Pentagon's much-publicized "deck of card" containing the names and pictures of 55 wanted former top Iraqi officials that was distributed among US soldiers in Iraq.

Nevertheless, the official pointed out that Hijazi "certainly is somebody we are interested in."

SPACE.WIRE