¡¡WASHINGTON, June 16 (Xinhuanet) -- The independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks found "no credible evidence" of cooperation between Iraq and al-Qaida on attacks against the United States, a staff report issued on Wednesday said.

    The report said al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden explored possible cooperation with Iraq during his time in Sudan, despite his opposition to Saddam Hussein's secular regime.

    The Sudanese reportedly persuaded bin Laden to cease his support for anti-Saddam militias in Iraq and arranged for contactsbetween Iraq and al-Qaida, the report said.

    A senior Iraqi intelligence officer reportedly made three visits to Sudan, finally meeting bin Laden in 1994. Bin Laden was said to have requested space to establish training camps, as well as assistance in procuring weapons, but Iraq apparently never responded.

    "There have been reports that contacts between Iraq and al-Qaida also occurred after bin Laden had returned to Afghanistan, but they do not appear to have resulted in a collaborative relationship," the report said.

    "Two senior bin Laden associates have adamantly denied" any relationship, the report said.

    The report also found that there was "no convincing evidence" that any government financially supported al-Qaida before Sept. 11other than the limited support provided by the Taliban when bin Laden arrived in Afghanistan.

    The commission, which is scheduled to release its final report on the attacks at the end of July, is holding its last hearings Wednesday and Thursday.

    US Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday repeated charges, without providing details, that Saddam had "long-established ties"with al-Qaida, although this assertion has been widely challenged.Enditem