Washington, July 13 (DPA) A secret operation halted last month by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director planned assassinations of Al Qaeda targets, a newspaper reported Monday.

The activities of the highly classified US operation weren't clear, and the agency refused to comment, but some officials said it followed a 2001 presidential directive to capture or kill Al Qaeda operatives, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing intelligence officials.

It quoted current and former officials as saying the agency spent money on planning and training but the initiative was reportedly not fully operational when CIA Director Leon Panetta ended it in June.

Some members of the Congress accused the CIA and former president George W. Bush's administration of deceiving lawmakers and deliberately failing to inform them of programme activities as required by law.

Panetta acknowledged that it had not been properly vetted with the Congress. The new director under President Barack Obama said he only learned about it June 23 and ordered it to end immediately.