The general who will lead Iraqi forces in a security crackdown in Baghdad takes charge today.

The general who will lead Iraqi forces in a security crackdown in Baghdad takes charge tomorrow.

The outgoing top US general in Iraq told politicians that president George Bush has ordered thousands more troops than are needed to clamp down on violence in Baghdad.

Admiral William Fallon, who is poised to become the top American commander in the Middle East, says the United States miscalculated the ability of Iraqi forces to take control and underestimated the enemy’s persistence.

US secretary of defence Robert Gates, on his second trip to Iraq in less than a month, arrived unannounced today in the southern city of Basra to consult with British and other allied commanders.

The White House announced a shuffling of US military leaders in the Iraq war today as Congress’ new Democratic chiefs criticised plans president George W Bush is considering to boost US troop strength in the war zone.

The White House today announced a shuffling of US military leaders in the Iraq war today as Congress' new Democratic chiefs criticised plans President George W Bush is considering to boost US troop strength in the war zone.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates rushed back to Washington to give President George Bush advice on transforming US policy in Iraq after talks in the war zone with military and political leaders.

President George Bush will meet his defence experts today to thrash out the nuts and bolts of his yet-to-be-revealed Iraq strategy plan.

US President George Bush today met with a bipartisan group seeking consensus on a new approach for the war in Iraq amid widespread agreement that the administration's current efforts have not worked well enough or fast enough.

US military commanders are re-evaluating strategy in Iraq to determine what changes are needed, the top general said.

Iraqi forces should be able to take full control of security in the country within the next 12 to 18 months with minimal American support, General George Casey, the top US commander in Iraq, said today.

US President George Bush reviewed Iraq strategy with his top commanders and national security advisers, but indicated little inclination for major changes to an increasingly divisive policy.

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.

A controversial new study contends that nearly 655,000 have died because of the Iraq conflict, suggesting a far higher death toll than other estimates.

Coalition forces handed over control of Iraq’s armed forces command to the government today, a move US officials have hailed as a crucial milestone on the country’s difficult road to independence.

The top US general in Iraq today said Iraqi forces should be able to take over security with little coalition support as early as next year, even as a bombing at a Baghdad market killed at least 24 people and dozens of others were slain around the country.

The British deputy to the top US commander in Iraq said today the country’s sectarian conflict is not a full-blown civil war, but could be described as a “civil war in miniature".

A suicide truck bomber struck the provincial headquarters of an Iraqi police commando force north of Baghdad today, killing at least 10 troops and wounding 18 others, police said.

Gunmen today kidnapped 20 employees of a Iraqi government agency that cares for Sunni mosques and shrines nationwide, and the organisation suspended its work until further notice, an official said.

Gunmen stormed a bus station north-east of Baghdad on today, seizing some 24 Shiites after separating them from the crowd and killing them, authorities said.

US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld made an unannounced visit to an air base north of Baghdad today, saying that the new Iraqi government was not yet ready to decide on security issues that would determine the pace of American troop reductions this year.

Bombs killed at least 40 people at markets in two Iraqi cities, hours after key MPs said seven Sunni Arab rebel groups had offered the government a conditional truce.

Encouraged by the death of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and a new government in Iraq, George Bush is gathering his top military and civilian war advisers today to plan the US role in the country’s future.

Two bombs aimed at police patrols exploded today in Baghdad as a series of attacks killed at least 24 people nationwide, while insurgent groups offered condolences for the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and warned they would continue his campaign of violence.

INTELLIGENCE officers said they found Abu Musab al-Zarqawi by following his spiritual adviser and deputy, who visited him at a safehouse.

US and Iraqi intelligence found Abu Musab al-Zarqawi by following his spiritual adviser and deputy, who visited the terror leader at a safehouse, prompting the airstrike that killed both men, the US military said.

US President George Bush said today the death of al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq is “a severe blow” to the al-Qaida terrorist network and a decisive victory in the US-led campaign against terrorism.

America’s top US general in Iraq urged his troops to take extra care to ensure that unarmed Iraqis are not harmed amid allegations of the killing of civilians.

THE US government dispatched its top two foreign policy officials to Iraq yesterday in a dramatic show of support for the country’s emerging government.

In a show of support for Iraq’s emerging government, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived in the capital Baghdad unannounced today for meetings with Prime Minister-designate Jawad al-Maliki and other newly selected leaders.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today said the US could withdraw a significant number of troops from Iraq this year – if Iraqi forces are able to assume greater control of the country’s security.

The Bush administration is sending a stay-the-course message on Iraq on the third anniversary of the US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, although a top military commander acknowledges the insurgency is more fierce than expected.

US president George Bush marked the anniversary of the Iraq war by touting efforts to build democracy there and avoiding any mention of the daily violence still raging three years after he ordered an invasion.

The top US military commander in Iraq said today it appears the crisis has passed after days of bloodshed there between religious sects, but he conceded that a major new terrorist attack would threaten stability anew.

A BOMB attack on one of Iraq's most revered Shi'ite shrines yesterday spawned mass protests and reprisal attacks against dozens of Sunni mosques.

President George Bush has authorised new cuts in US combat troops in Iraq, below the 138,000 level that prevailed for most of this year, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.

United States Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Iraq today, touring the country after parliamentary elections.

President George Bush will today set out a defence of his embattled war policy, after he stressed that a US military pullout from Iraq would be a terrible mistake.

AT least 60 people were massacred when three suicide attackers detonated car bombs almost simultaneously in a mainly Shi’ite town north of Baghdad last night.

Al-Qaida is the main enemy to peace and stability in the Middle East and the terrorist group is seeking to acquire – and use – weapons of mass destruction there, a top US commander in Iraq told the US Congress.

IRAQ'S transitional prime minister called yesterday for a speedy withdrawal of US troops as the top US commander said he believed a "fairly substantial" pullout could begin next spring and summer.

Iraq’s transitional prime minister called today for a speedy withdrawal of US troops and the top US commander in Iraq said he believed a “fairly substantial” pullout could begin next spring and summer.

IRAQ’S newly-elected president expects US troops to have completely withdrawn from the country within two years.