Moscow denies Saddam claims

Moscow - Russian defence minister Sergei Ivanov on Tuesday called reports that Moscow had provided information to Saddam Hussein's regime on US troop movements "complete nonsense", the Interfax news agency reported.

Ivanov, who is also a deputy prime minister, joined a chorus of denials from Russian officials.

According to a Pentagon report, two captured Iraqi documents indicate Moscow obtained information from sources inside the American central command and passed battlefield intelligence to Saddam.