US president George Bush today acknowledged that the situation in Iraq was tough and said he would consult with US generals to see if a change in tactics was necessary to combat the escalating violence.

British soldiers killed a suspected terrorist in the southern city of Basra during an overnight gunbattle in which a British soldier was wounded, a military spokesman said today.

A US military doctor today said al-Qaida terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi died 52 minutes after an airstrike against his safe house north-east of Baghdad.

Iraqi and US military officials have said that an inspection of an overcrowded detention centre run by the Interior Ministry discovered 13 prisoners who required medical treatment, the victims of apparent abuse.

The US military command today branded as false a news report that the top US general in Iraq was present during some interrogations at the Abu Ghraib prison and witnessed some of the abuse.