US intelligence chiefs believe that al-Qaeda will probably seek to use “contacts and capabilities” in Iraq for a terrorist attack on American soil, according to a declassified document released yesterday.

The warning was among the key judgments of the National Intelligence Estimate, representing the authoritative views of 16 spy agencies, on the threat of terrorism.

The network “has protected or regenerated key elements of its [US] attack capability”, establishing a safe haven in remote areas of Pakistan and is likely to “intensify its efforts” to place terrorists inside the US.

Plots are expected to concentrate on “prominent political, economic and infrastructure targets” with the aim of producing mass casualties.

President Bush’s critics seized on the report as evidence that the war in Iraq had made America less safe, by ignoring the al-Qaeda resurgence in the Afghanistan/Pakistan border area, while creating a “recruiting and propaganda tool” for the terror network.

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