Saddam Hussein's secret archives could already be in Moscow despite American Central Intelligence Agency's bid to block their evacuation by firing at the Russian diplomatic convoy near Baghdad on Sunday.

Quoting intelligence sources the Nezavisimaya Gazeta, on Wednesday, reported that Sunday's attack by the US rangers on the Russian ambassador's convoy near Baghdad's was a 'direct clash between Russian's Foreign Intelligence Service SVR and CIA.

Moscow had asked the US for safe passage from Baghdad to Syria for its ambassador's convoy and a 'Predator' drone was hovering over it all along the way from the embassy in Baghdad transmitting live video pictures, the daily said. It ruled out any case of mistaken identity by the US troops, which fired at it.

"CIA was under the impression that SVR was evacuating Saddam's secret archives under the diplomatic cover of ambassador's convoy... this also explains why at several occasions after the firing the American troops had tried to search Russian vehicles," Gazeta wrote.

It also noted that though the Iraqi escort vans were totally destroyed by the Americans along with their occupants, in case of the Russians they tried to put their vehicles out of order to prevent further movement.

"All the details we will learn only after fifty years in 2053, when SVR is expected to declassify its secret documents relating to the operation," Nezavisimaya Gazeta said.

SVR in Moscow has refrained from commenting on the daily's claim that the Russian diplomatic convoy in Iraq was attacked due to 'a direct clash of interests between the SVR and the CIA'.

"This information is completely untrue and ungrounded," SVR spokesman Boris Labusov was quoted as saying by Interfax.

PTI