CIA chief says unrest in Iraq fuelling terrorism

UNREST in Iraq is providing Islamist militants with training and contacts which could be used in new attacks abroad, the head of the CIA has warned.

In his first public appearance as CIA director, Porter Goss said the conflict had become a "cause for extremists".

It was only a matter of time, he added, before militant groups like al-Qaida attempted to use weapons of mass destruction.

Mr Goss was testifying before a Senate hearing on threats to the US. More than three years after the 11 September attacks, the CIA director stressed that militants were still trying to strike inside the US.

He accused Iran of supporting terrorism, aiding Iraqi insurgents and seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. The new CIA head said threats to the United States both at home and abroad remained.

In Iraq, he said, the militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was seeking to exploit the conflict to recruit for broader operations.