Clairvoyant led Americans to Saddam, says Geller

HERZLIYA, Israel, Nov 7 (Reuters) Did a clairvoyant help U S commandos ferret Saddam Hussein out of his hiding place in Iraq three years ago? Israeli-born celebrity psychic Uri Geller, best known for his spoon-bending antics, says the power of the paranormal led U S troops to the fugitive Iraqi ex-dictator.

''You remember when they found Saddam Hussein in Iraq? A soldier walked over to a rug, lifted it and then found a trap-door and found him in there,'' Geller told Reuters.

''Well, I know that that soldier walked over to that rug because he got information from a 'remote viewer' from the United States.'' Geller, who says he worked for the Central Intelligence Agency during the Cold War, said his information came from a high-level source involved in U S paranormal programmes.

A U S military spokesman in Iraq had no immediate comment.

At the time of his capture, U S commanders said a source close to the fugitive had given him up under interrogation.

A Brazilian psychic tried last year to claim a 25 million dollar bounty offered for Saddam's capture, saying he had described the hiding place in letters to the US government.

REUTERS PB KP1953