Washington From A special correspondent

The Saudi government still insist the investigation of a 1996 terrorist bombing in Al-Khobar that killed 19 U.S. airmen had not collapsed, and that Saudi law enforcement officers were co-operating with their U.S. counterparts. 

Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahd, the youngest son of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and a member of the royal cabinet, asserted the Americans that investigations were continuing. 

''The co-operation in this regard between the two governments is ongoing and continuing because it is of the utmost importance for both countries,'' Prince Abdul Aziz told a news conference following his meeting with President Clinton in the White House on Friday 11 July. ''Investigations of this nature tend to be complex and require a lot of time.''

The Prince's remarks contradicted the account of U.S. officials, who have said in recent that the investigation has broken down because of disputes with the Saudis. 

Initially blaming groups backed by Iran, the Saudis now decided to woo Iran's new president Mohammed Khatami, thus changed the direction of the investigations 

Out of frustration, the F.B.I. has quietly pulled out the dozens of investigators who were initially sent to the scene of the bombing, at AlKhobor Towers apartment complex in eastern Saudi Arabia, leaving behind only a single agent as a liaison to the Saudis. 

While claiming that has no knowledge of " misunderstanding" between the two nations over the investigation, the prince's remarks did seem to suggest that jurisdictional disputes between the F.B.I. and Saudi officials might be at the root of reports of ill feeling. 

"We have to emphasise that the event occurred in Saudi Arabia, and the investigation is the responsibility of Saudi Arabian law enforcement," he said. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has spared no effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this crime." 

The families of the U.S. victims of the bombing have begun to complain openly about the slow pace of the inquiry. They have asserted that the case is not being pursued aggressively because of U.S. fears of offending Saudi Arabia, an important oil supplier and partner in a wider strategy for the Persian Gulf region including the dual containment policy, which is mainly directed at controlling the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The warming up to Iran is also part of a new strategy by Secretary of State Madeline Albright, while it is in Saudi's own interest to warm up to a new moderate leadership in Iran.

U.S. officials said that the AlKhobor Towers investigation was not on the agenda for 11 July 35 minute meeting between the prince and President Clinton, and that the conversation in the White House dealt instead with the need for continued close ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia. 

The later news conference was unusual if only because the Saudi Embassy in Washington rarely sponsors gatherings for U.S. news organisations.

Saudi officials rarely comment publicly on delicate topics like the AlKhobor

Towers investigation, or any other matters of real significance. Journalists always complain that Arab embassies in General and Saudi Arabian's in particular never return calls when there is a story brewing in the media regarding matters they might see as embarrassing or controversial. In the rare occasions they come back with an answer it is usually late after they consult with their capitals first. 

The Saudis are eager, Riyadh based western diplomats say, to provide a public showcase for Abdul Aziz, who is only 24 years old and is making his first official visit to Washington as a member of the Saudi Cabinet. He is described by insiders as a favourite among King Fad's scores of children by several wives. 

The prince denied reports that the king, who is in his mid-70s, is seriously ill. King Fad suffered a stroke in December 1995 and was hospitalised earlier this year after tests and treatment for what was reported to be an inflamed gall bladder. 

"My father's health, thank God, is good," the prince said. "In fact, knees. He continues his government responsibilities in a normal manner, everyday." 

Suffering from over-weight, diabetes and chronic pain in his knees the King is seldom seen in public. When he receives guests on a rare occasion, he is always sitting down. Most of state functions and the day to day business of government are conducted by crown Prince Abdul, the King's brother. In an ironic duplication of historic events, King Fad played a similar role as a crown prince in the late 1970s when King Child's health was fading. Even when he was installed as king by the family council following the violent death of King Fail by the sword of a mentally sick fundamentalist nephew; the then Prince Fad was real power behind the thrown. He quickly shed away the image of the gambler, womanizer playboy and proved to be a wise statesman. His backing of the alliance lead by President George Bush in 1990 was crucial for the success of operation Desert Storm, which liberated Kuwait from Iraqi forces in 1991. But such alliance lead to opposition from fundamentalists inside the Kingdom and King Fad's government - which has always been under immense pressure from the religious establishment- failed to carry out the promised modernisation and openness that Saudi intellectuals and women have anticipated from alliance with America in 1990.

Prince Abdul, who is popular among Arab Nationalists, .is groomed to be the next king. His rising influence is thought to be behind the Saudi officials' reluctance to fully co-operate with the FBI Prince Abdul played a major role in getting the Americans to change heart over plans to take military action against Iraq during the UN inspectors' crisis in February 1998. He told Secretary Albright that Saudi Arabia would deny the US forces the use of its basis against Iraq.