Staff work in the Al-Jazeera newsroom in Doha. (AFP file photo)

    BEIJING, Nov. 23 -- British newspaper The Daily Mirror reported Tuesday US president George W Bush spoke of targeting Al-Jazeera's headquarters in Doha, Qatar, when he met Blair at the White House on April 16 last year.

    The Daily Mirror attributed its information to two unidentified sources describing a leaked document they said contained a transcript of the two leaders' talk.

    It quoted one source, which it said was in the government, as saying that the alleged threat was "humorous, not serious," but it quoted another as saying "Bush was deadly serious, as was Blair."

    According to a source quoted in the Daily Mail, Blair told Bush that bombing al-Jazeera "would cause a big problem." The source was also quoted as saying: "There's no doubt what Bush wanted to do -- and no doubt Blair didn't want him to do it." 

   "We are not interested in dignifying something so outlandish and inconceivable with a response," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told the Associated Press in an e-mail.

    A spokesman for Blair's office declined to comment on grounds that the document is part of a criminal investigation. Two civil servants have been charged with violating Britain's Official Secrets Act for allegedly disclosing the document. Enditem

(Agencies)