WASHINGTON – New intelligence indicates that Osama bin Laden is enlisting Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, his top operative in Iraq, to plan potential attacks on America, federal officials said.

Mr. al-Zarqawi has been involved in attacks in the Middle East. He has not been known to have set his sights on America.

The Homeland Security Department issued a classified bulletin to officials over the weekend about the intelligence, which spokesman Brian Roehrkasse described as “credible but not specific.” The intelligence was obtained over the past several weeks, the officials said.

The government has no immediate plans to raise its national terror alert level, Mr. Roehrkasse said. But, he said, the intelligence “reiterates the desire by Al Qaeda and its associates to target the homeland.”

Mr.bin Laden was in contact with Mr. al-Zarqawi within the past two months in an effort to enlist him in attacks, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. American analysts believe this shows the Al Qaeda leadership needs to reach out to Mr. al-Zarqawi to get him involved in considering such activities outside Iraq, the official said.

Mr. al-Zarqawi, who is blamed for scores of attacks in Iraq, pledged allegiance to bin Laden and the Al Qaeda network last year. Yet he has had differences with bin Laden, and his efforts are considered somewhat distinct from central Al Qaeda operations.

A Bush administration official with access to the Homeland Security Department’s bulletin said the intelligence indicates that Al Qaeda has continued to encourage Mr. al-Zarqawi, who was born in Jordan, to get involved in terrorist actions against Americans outside Iraq, including in the United States.

“The intelligence continues to be analyzed by the intelligence community and all appropriate information will be passed on to homeland security partners,” Mr. Roehrkasse said. “The department has no plans at this time to raise the threat level based on this nonspecific information.”

The agency sent the bulletin to state homeland security directors. A Justice Department official said the FBI was not involved and that the information that led to the bulletin was gleaned by CIA intelligence.

In America, Mr. al-Zarqawi rivals Mr. bin Laden as public enemy no. 1. He has a $25 million U.S. bounty on his head and is believed to have orchestrated car bombings, kidnappings, assassinations, and beheadings in Iraq.

Mr. al-Zarqawi has run an increasingly dangerous, but diffuse, network of operatives in Iraq known by a number of names. He is blamed largely for at tacks in the Middle East, including numerous attacks in Iraq and foiled plots targeting American and Israeli targets in Jordan at the millennium.

In October, he made a first-ever pledge of loyalty to Mr. bin Laden by posting a message on a Web site known for carrying militant Islamic content. At the time, U.S. officials believed Mr. al-Zarqawi was hoping to appeal to a larger audience and adopt Mr. bin Laden’s broad objective to attack America.

Mr. bin Laden, who is believed to be hiding on the rugged border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, is thought to communicate with his deputies by courier, taped messages, and other means.