WASHINGTON, June 17: US President George W. Bush on Thursday insisted Saddam Hussein had a relationship with Al Qaeda but said his administration never asserted that the former Iraqi president had a role in the September 11, 2001, attacks.

"The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and Al Qaeda is because there was a relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda," Bush told reporters after a meeting with his Cabinet.

"This administration never said that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated between Saddam and Al Qaeda. We did say there were numerous contacts between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda," the Republican president said.

"There were numerous contacts between the two," he added, citing reports of a Sudan meeting between Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Iraqi intelligence officers. -Reuters