Saddam was due to meet with his number two Izzat Ibrahim al-Durri, vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan, defence minister Sultan Hashem and intelligence chief Tahir Jalil al-Habbush al-Takriti, the former official told AFP.

The source, who was speaking from a location outside Iraq and outside Jordan, said that Saddam fled because he feared he had been betrayed by his intelligence chief.

The Iraqi leader, who was ousted by US forces on April 9 but is still at large, had been holding regular meetings with his four cronies since March 19 in different secret locations.

On April 7 they were due to gather at the Al-Mansur villa near Al-Sa'ah (The Hour) restaurant which was owned by the Iraqi intelligence services, he said on condition of anonymity.

The meeting was organised by "Saddam's nephews", he said.

"Saddam had been using them as messengers for the past few months and they would deliver his messages to his close aides in person," he said.

"That Monday afternoon, Saddam arrived in a yellow 'Sunny' taxi that bore licence plates with the number 660. He was followed by Taha Yassin Ramadan in a white Toyota Corolla collective taxi.

"Izzat Ibrahim and Sultan Hashim were already waiting for them," the former official said.

As he walked into the house, Saddam asked one of his nephews who headed the messenger team, "did you inform Tahir?" in reference to his intelligence chief.

The nephew replied affirmatively.

Tahir, however, was not in the house.

For Saddam, his absence meant only one thing: a trap.

The Iraqi leader immediately fled from the Al-Mansur villa on foot, crossed a narrow street and walked several hundred yards until he reached a main road where Taha Yassin Ramadan's taxi that was waiting.

"I am sure of this information," the source said.

"Saddam had been suspicious of Tahir Habbush since the bombardments of March 19 and that is why his absence from the meeting was proof of his treachery," the former official said.

The source, and two other former Iraqi officials who also spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said that Saddam immediately gave orders "to arrest and execute if necessary" Tahir Habbush.

Saddam also appointed Hossam Mohammad Amin, a former head of the National Monitoring Directorate -- a liaison group with UN arms inspectors -- to replace him at the helm of the intelligence services.

Amin, number 34 on a US list of 55 wanted Iraqis, was captured by US troops on April 27.

According to the three former officials who spoke to AFP, Habbush was evacuated by the US forces as soon as they entered Baghdad, along with other members of the former regime who collaborated with the United States.

Among those collaborators they identified Hussein Rashid al-Takriti, director of security at the defence ministry, and his son Ali, head of the office of Saddam's younger son and once heir apparent Qusay, who was killed by US troops in July.

"Military instructions given by Hussein Rashid had to be counter-signed by Qusay in order to take effect," one of the sources said.

"But towards the end Ali countersigned his father's instructions on behalf of Saddam's son.

"This allowed Hussein Rashid to issue instructions which proved beneficial to the US forces," he said.

Although Saddam's whereabouts remain a mystery, the former strongman of Iraq has surface on several occasions in audio-tapes and letters attributed to him.

All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

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