Iraq’s prime minister strolled Baghdad’s streets and visited police checkpoints today to showcase security ahead of an international conference aimed at stabilising the war-torn country.

Gunmen killed a Shiite tribal sheikh linked to British forces in a drive-by shooting today in the southern city of Basra, while two US Marines were reported killed in fighting in a volatile province west of Baghdad.

Saddam Hussein’s nephew escaped from prison today in northern Iraq, authorities said.

US and Iraqi forces set up extra checkpoints, boosted patrols, and blocked traffic across a main Baghdad bridge today, one day before the expected announcement of a verdict – and possible death sentence – in the trial of former leader Saddam Hussein.