Documents about Iraq-Niger uranium deal was fake, Italian officials say

Italian secret services warned the United States in January 2003 that a dossier about a purported Iraq-Niger uranium deal was fake, an Italian lawmaker said Thursday after a briefing by an Italian intelligence chief.

The United States and Britain used the claim that Saddam Hussein was seeking uranium in Africa to bolster their case for the war. The intelligence supporting the claim was later deemed unreliable, the AP reports.

SISMI chief Nicolo Pollari had requested the hearing after an Italian newspaper alleged last week that Italy had given the United States and Britain documents it knew were forged detailing a purported Iraqi deal to buy 500 tons of uranium concentrate from Niger. The uranium, known as yellowcake, can be used to make nuclear weapons. A.M.