Iraq’s interior ministry says police have arrested the top al-Qaida in Iraq figure in the northern city of Mosul, scene of an intensified crackdown on the terror network.

Four US soldiers have been charged with rape and murder and a fifth with dereliction of duty in the alleged rape-slaying of a young Iraqi woman and the killings of her relatives in Mahmoudiya, the military said on Sunday.

IRAQ’S prime minister yesterday called for an independent investigation into an alleged rape-murder by US soldiers and said the immunity of coalition troops from Iraq prosecution should be reviewed.

IRAQIS were unimpressed

Iraqis were unimpressed by George Bush’s speech, saying it only showed the US President’s determination to go to war.