Opposition sources in Iraq have claimed the Iraqi opposition will hold a conference in Europe at the end of September to elect a government-in-exile backed by the US.
They said the conference, which was likely to be held in Amsterdam, was agreed during a meeting on the future of Iraq earlier in August between the Bush administration and six Iraqi opposition leaders.
"It appears that they have got approval from the Dutch government to hold the conference," an opposition source told Reuters news agency.
"This is a US test for the Iraqi opposition to come up with a unified leadership, otherwise the Americans will intervene more directly," the source added.
US vice-president Mr Dick Cheney said on Monday that Washington must oust President Saddam Hussein, alleging he had chemical and biological weapons that threatened the US.
After more than a decade of lobbying by the Iraqi National Congress, the main Iraqi opposition group, Washington has warmed to the idea of a federal and democratic Iraq if Saddam falls.
