A friend of an injured coach passenger spoke about the accident as he went to visit him in hospital today.

US and British troops yesterday freed three Christian peace activists in rural Iraq without firing a shot.

While the Christian Peacemakers Teams expressed joy at their colleagues’ sudden rescue from captivity in Iraq today, the peace activists took the opportunity to also call for an end to the US-led occupation of Iraq.

US AND Iraqi troops launched an operation in western Iraq yesterday to clear insurgents from a suspected safe area used to make car and roadside bombs.