Three German spies helped the US military invasion of Iraq in 2003, in an intelligence-sharing deal approved in late 2002 by top German officials, the New York Times said Thursday.

The deal, which ended when the invasion came to an end, flies in the face of official German opposition to the war and is contained in a classified report by the German parliament, a copy of which was obtained by the newspaper.

It also follows strong denials from Berlin and the Pentagon that German intelligence had provided a copy of Iraq's war plans to the US military months before the US invasion, as the New York Times reported Monday.

In reviewing German-American cooperation before and during the Iraq war, German lawmakers said in their report that, starting in early 2003, a German intelligence officer was stationed in the office of US general Tommy Franks, who headed the US central command and the invading forces in Iraq.

Two other German spies in Baghdad passed on information to their colleague in Franks' office mostly about sites in the Iraqi capital, such as embassies and suspected location of hostages, to be avoided by US bombs.

They also provided information on Iraqi police and military units in Baghdad, although the German report stressed that the spies did not direct airstrikes against Iraqi leaders or forces, the daily said.

In all, the German spies provided 25 reports to the US central command and were awarded American meritorious medals, after the invasion came to an end, in recognition of the "critical information to United States central command to support combat operations in Iraq."

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