COPENHAGEN, Denmark - The head of Denmark's domestic intelligence agency confirmed Tuesday that some European Muslims - angered by the US occupation of Iraq - are heading there to foment anti-American resistance.

In recent days, anonymous European intelligence sources have said Iraq has become a magnet and proving ground for young Muslims from Europe, encouraged in part by the daily attacks on occupation troops from the United States, Britain and other countries.

Occupation forces are being attacked more than 30 times a day, occupation officials in Baghdad have said.

"What we see now is that Iraq seems to attract people with terror activities, also from Europe," said Lars Findsen, director of the Danish Security Intelligence Service.

Iraq "can be a breeding ground for new terror activities," he told reporters at the end of a two-day international terrorism conference organized by the agency.

Findsen, speaking to reporters at the end of a two-day international terrorism seminar organized by his agency, declined to give any specifics, exact numbers or say whether a recruitment network was in place.

He also declined to be explicit on the origin of the information. However, at the conference, Findsen said the Danish agency has intensified its co-operation with the European and US intelligence community after the September 11 attacks.

Earlier this week, anonymous sources said militants were leaving Europe individually or in small groups for Iraq. They appear to be young Muslims without military training or links to al-Qaida and have made a spontaneous decision to join the anti-American resistance.

A German security official said the numbers who have already left Europe for Iraq are "not inconsiderable."

On Monday, France's top anti-terrorism judge, Jean-Louis Bruguiere, said security services were keenly aware that Iraq may lure terrorists, though he stopped short of confirming that fighters were already on the move.

In neighboring Jordan, counterterrorism officials said that foreign fighters are believed to be mainly Syrian, Lebanese, Palestinian, Yemeni, Kuwaiti and Saudi.

In Copenhagen, none of the European intelligence officials who attended the conference, wanted to address the Iraq issue. Other participants were terrorism and security experts and scholars from the United States and Europe.

Several of the speakers said the fight against terror likely could be everlasting.

"The war against terror is a long-term fight, possibly a permanent one," said Magnus Ranstorp, director of the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at St. Andrews University in Scotland.

"It's a vicious circle, creating fresh generations of resentment," he said. (Agenices via Xinhua)