Iraq’s military needs more intelligence and action from international allies against Islamic State (IS) extremists, the prime minister has said.

Two US soldiers were killed when their helicopter was shot down and crashed in central Iraq, the military said today, as the government prepared to ring Baghdad with tens of thousands of security forces to curb the rampant insurgency.

THE United Nations envoy helping to draft an Iraqi interim government told the Bush administration yesterday to "tread carefully" in besieged Fallujah and avoid alienating an already angry populace.