WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Syrian firm, headed by a cousin of that country's leader, Bashar al-Assad, signed contracts to supply millions of dollars in arms and equipment to Iraq before the United States invaded in March, The Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday.

In the first of a two-part series written from Damascus, The Times reported that "1,000 heavy machine guns and up to 20 million bullets for assault rifles," supplied by SES International Corp., "helped Baghdad's ill-equipped army grow stronger before the war began in March. Some supplies may now be aiding the insurgency against the U.S.-led occupation."

Files cited by the Times were taken from the abandoned office of Al Bashair Trading Co., by a reporter for the German magazine Stern shortly after U.S. troops entered Baghdad.

The newspaper said it had the 800 signed contracts translated from Arabic and sought confirmation internationally during a three-month investigation.

Among the findings The Times reported:

-- A Polish company shipped up to 380 surface-to-air missile engines to Baghdad through Syria.

-- A South Korean firm shipped $8 million in telecommunications equipment for "air defense."

-- A Slovenian firm shipped 20 battle tank barrels to the Syrian firm early in 2002.

-- Two North Korean officials went to Damascus to discuss an Iraqi payment of $10 million for components for ballistic missiles.

According to the newspaper, a confidential U.N. report identifies Al Bashair as the biggest of 13 companies used to evade the U.N. arms embargo and other sanctions. Al Bashair made deals for as much as $1 billion a year in the 90s...