British foreign secretary Margaret Beckett today said that transferring control of Iraq’s security from the US-led coalition to the government was essential.

Iraq’s prime minister declared a state of emergency in once peaceful and oil-rich Basra, as the sectarian and militia violence engulfing the country’s capital spread to its southern economic heartland.

HUMAN rights abuses in Iraq are as bad now as they were under Saddam Hussein, as lawlessness and sectarian violence sweep the country, the former UN human rights chief in Iraq said yesterday.

Around 50 Iraqi soldiers were killed execution-style after insurgents intercepted minibuses carrying them home on leave, officials said today.