The US military extended a ceasefire for Fallujah for at least two more days, backing down from warnings of an all-out US marine assault and announcing that American and Iraqi forces would begin joint patrols in the city.

SUICIDE boat bombings targeting the key oil industry have forced the closure of Iraq’s biggest terminal, losing the country nearly one million barrels a day in exports, oil minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulloum said yesterday.

Suicide boat bombings targeting the key oil industry has forced the closure of Iraq’s biggest terminal, losing the country nearly one million barrels a day in exports, the oil minister said today.