The US Afghanistan commander general David Petraeus is to be made new head of the CIA, security sources have said.

THE United States inaugurated its largest embassy ever in the heart of the Green Zone yesterday, officially opening the fortress-like compound that was built as a testament to America’s commitment to Iraq.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today said it was his intention to reduce British troop numbers in Iraq, but he would not set an “artificial timetable” to bring forces home.

SHI’ITE cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened yesterday to lift a seven month freeze on his Mahdi army militia if the Iraqi government does not halt attacks on his followers or set a timetable for a US withdrawal.

The American general commanding the Iraq war today called for an end to troop withdrawals claiming they would jeopardise recent security gains.

Iraq’s prime minister pledged to expand his crackdown on Shiite militias to Baghdad, despite a mixed performance so far against militants in the southern city of Basra.

A woman suicide bomber killed at least 32 people from a group of Shiite worshippers near an Iraqi mosque today.

US vice president Dick Cheney opened a new push for political unity in Iraq on an unannounced visit today, just ahead of the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion.

The top US commander in Iraq will ask President George Bush to wait until as late as September to decide when to bring home more troops than already scheduled.

Iraq’s political leaders are showing promising new signs of progress towards reconciliation, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said today.

Two mentally disabled women strapped with remote-control explosives – and possibly used as unwitting suicide bombers – brought carnage to two pet bazaars, killing at least 99 people.

US President George Bush said today he has made no decision on withdrawing more US troops from Iraq, and if his top commander did not want to go beyond the reduction of forces already planned, “that’s fine with me”.

Iran wants to renew top-level talks with the US on security in Iraq, insisting that discussions take place between ambassadors and not lower-level functionaries, Iraqi officials say.

US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and America’s envoy to Baghdad told diplomats it was their duty to serve their country amid a revolt over forced assignments to Iraq.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has stated the need for a “more stable and confident” political process in Iraq after a meeting with two of the most senior US officials in Iraq.

US president George Bush will one day be tried in court just like deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein for his involvement in the Iraq tragedy, Iran’s supreme leader said today.

Gunmen ambushed an Iraqi police checkpoint in northern Iraq before dawn today, killing six officers in a sophisticated attack on fledgling Iraqi security installations, police said.

US President George Bush will tomorrow announce plans to reduce the American troop presence in Iraq by as many as 30,000 by the middle of next year, subject to continued progress.

Prime Minister Nouri Maliki today told politicians that Iraqi forces were not ready to take over security from the US military across the country.

Democrats and moderate Republicans in Congress have tough questions for a top military commander in Iraq who is warning against major changes to US president George Bush’s war strategy.

IRAQ’S foreign minister urged neighbours to prevent “terrorists and killers” from crossing into his country and warned yesterday that the violence in Iraq could spill across its borders.

Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari today urged Iraq’s neighbours to prevent “terrorists and killers” from crossing into his country and warned that the violence in Iraq could spill across its borders into other nations.

The US military brought a new weapon into the fight in Iraq, announcing the Army’s first-ever use of a drone aircraft to kill enemy fighters in Iraq.

President Bush today defended his build-up of forces in Iraq and pledged to “hang in there” with Iraqis despite calls from Congress to get troops home.

Iraq’s prime minister today said he expects the US ambassador and military commander to give his government favourable marks when they report to Congress next week and predicted passage of a law soon that could return more Sunnis to government jobs.

US President George Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq today, using the war zone as a backdrop to argue his case that the buildup of US troops is helping stabilising the nation.

IRAQ’S beleaguered prime minister yesterday lashed out at US Democrats who have called for his removal, saying senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Carl Levin need to “come to their senses”.

American troops battled with Shiite gunmen today in Baghdad, killing at least eight in pre-dawn fighting, the US military said.

At least nine people were killed and 17 wounded when a car bomb struck a market district during rush hour in central Baghdad today, Iraqi police said.

Rescuers dug through the muddy wreckage of collapsed clay houses in north-west Iraq today, uncovering at least 200 bodies from suicide truck bombings the US military blamed on al-Qaida.

Iraq’s prime minister called a crisis conference in a bid to reach open a dialogue tomorrow among Iraq’s divided factions, to shore up his shaky government and unstick the stalled political process.

Iraq’s political crisis worsened today as five more ministers announced a boycott of Cabinet meetings – leaving the embattled prime minister’s unity government with no members affiliated with Sunni political factions.

The United States, Iran and Iraq have agreed to set up a security sub-committee to carry forward talks on restoring stability in Iraq, the American envoy said today.

Two top Republicans dismissed President George Bush’s pleas for patience on Iraq and proposed legislation demanding a new strategy by mid-October to restrict the mission of US troops.

A handful of Sunni mosques were attacked or burned today, but curfews and increased troop levels kept Iraq in relative calm a day after suspected al Qaida bombers toppled the towering minarets of a revered Shiite shrine.

Suspected al-Qaida bombers have toppled the towering minarets of Samarra's revered Shiite shrine, dealing a bold blow to Iraqi hopes for peace and reopening old wounds a year after the mosque's Golden Dome was destroyed.

Iran and the United States resumed public diplomacy today for the first time in more than a quarter century.

America’s top diplomat in Iraq has urged Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s government to speed up reforms geared toward achieving national reconciliation, saying it was its duty to do so soon.

US Vice President Dick Cheney sought to encourage reconciliation among rival Iraqi factions today in an unannounced visit to Baghdad.

Iraqi officials have received reports that the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq has been killed north of Baghdad but the information has not been confirmed, the chief government spokesman said today.

US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker today said the American military would "respect the wishes" of the Iraqi government regarding a barrier being built around a Sunni enclave in Baghdad.

At least 27 people were killed and 59 wounded in three suicide bomb attacks in Iraq today.

Suicide bombers in cars and on foot struck markets crowded with shoppers in predominantly Shiite areas in Baghdad and north of the capital today, killing more than 100 people, police said.

Ambassador Ryan Crocker was sworn in as the new top US envoy to Iraq today.