Syria said Friday it would cooperate with the UN atomic watchdog over its suspected nuclear programme but stressed it would not compromise on national security.

"We would like to underline that my government is cooperating with the (IAEA) in full transparency and we will follow suit all along the way," the head of Syria's Atomic Energy Commission, Ibrahim Othman, told the IAEA's general conference here.

"However, this cooperation will not be in any way at the expense of disclosing our military sites or causing a threat to our national security," Othman said.

The UN atomic watchdog is probing allegations that Damascus had been building a clandestine nuclear facility at Al-Kibar, a remote desert area, until it was bombed by Israeli planes in September 2007.

Syria has denied the allegations as "ridiculous," saying the building was simply a disused military utility.

Damascus allowed a three-member IAEA team to visit the site in June but has refused any follow-up trips.

The United States and its Western allies complained during this week's general conference that Syria was dragging its feet on the IAEA probe.

"We have listened with regret to statements from some countries calling on us to show more transparency and cooperation with the agency," Othman told the assembly on Friday.

"I would like here to recall what the Director General (Mohamed ElBaradei) and his deputy for safeguards (Olli Heinonen) have said ... namely that Syria has cooperated and complied with the implementation of the measures agreed to with the agency."

At a week-long meeting of the IAEA's 35-member board last week, agency chief ElBaradei said that the cooperation shown by Syria so far was "good."

ElBaradei revealed that the probe had been delayed because the agency's contact man in Syria was murdered.

According to ElBaradei, the IAEA was still evaluating samples taken from the site, but that inspectors had found "no indication" so far of any nuclear material.

Nevertheless, he complained that Syria had not yet responded to IAEA requests for additional access to individuals, sites and information.

In view of the allegations of its illicit nuclear work, Syria's bid for a seat on the IAEA's 35-member board had run into fierce opposition, particularly by the US and other Western states.

Syria had been competing with Afghanistan for a seat that had become vacant for the so-called Middle East and South Asia (MESA) group after Pakistan's one-year term expired.

But MESA reached a consensus behind Afghanistan's bid after Syria pulled out, the delegate of India, which currently chairs the MESA group, told the assembly after behind-the-scenes negotiations to strike a compromise.

"Syria very kindly agreed to withdraw its candidature ... in the interests of maintaining the tradition of consensus candidatures for the board of governors and in order to facilitate the work of the conference," the delegate said.

Reacting to his official appointment, Afghanistan's Permanent Representative to the IAEA, Wahid Monawar, said he was "humbled" by his selection.

"The IAEA's efforts, both in security and in innovation, are critical to Afghanistan's national development, and we are deeply committed to the work that the agency does worldwide," he told AFP.

"Afghanistan highly values its role as the new MESA group representative on the board. We will strive to represent the interests and needs of our neighbours, including improving development assistance and creating more stringent safeguards against regional proliferation.

"I look forward to working in partnership with other MESA group members in order to better understand their priorities with regards to the agency's activities. I can assure you that Afghanistan will take its role on the board of governors with utmost gravity and dedication."