An attack by a suicide car bomber near an American patrol in southern Baghdad killed two US soldiers and wounded four, an official said today.

The text of a joint statement on Iraq issued today by the United States and the European Union.

AMERICA and Britain presented a new UN resolution last night that would transfer "governing authority" in Iraq to a sovereign interim government by June 30 and authorise a multinational force to maintain peace.

Iraqi politicians agreed early today on an interim constitution with a wide ranging bill of rights and a single chief executive, bridging a gulf between several members over the role of Islam in the future government.