A roadside bomb blasted a US convoy in north Baghdad on Monday, killing an American soldier and his Iraqi interpreter, the military reported, and the top American commander announced plans to establish an Iraqi militia to patrol the country.

IRAQ’S cascade of violence has claimed more American lives, with a bomb attack on a military convoy killing one US soldier yesterday and gunmen slaying another in an ambush on a patrol in the capital.

US President George W Bush defended the US-led invasion of Iraq yesterday and pledged that "we'll reveal the truth" on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. He surveyed Baghdad from Air Force One as he flew back to Washington.

US President George Bush argued today that the US-led invasion of Iraq was justified and pledged to “reveal the truth” about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction.

US President George Bush was optimistic today after yesterday’s landmark summit with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers.

General Tommy Franks, who planned and commanded the American-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is to retire, defence officials said today.

The US general in charge of the Iraq war today issued a statement saying Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party was “dissolved,” ordering the political organisation that ruled the country for 35 years to cease existence.

US President George W Bush is set to announce that major combat in Iraq is over.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld pledged during an unannounced visit to Iraq yesterday that his troops would leave as soon as possible, but fresh bloodshed erupted at an anti-American protest.

Former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz has told interrogators that Saddam Hussein survived the two attempted decapitation strikes against him, it was reported today.

Saddam Hussein’s 66th birthday arrived today with none of the elaborate fanfare of past years but with rumours the deposed dictator was still alive - and was planning something dastardly to mark the occasion.

Iraqi civilians are preparing to take Allied commander Gen Tommy Franks to court in Belgium, accusing him and other US military officials of war crimes in Iraq, it was reported today.

A FORMER Iraqi intelligence official allegedly linked to al-Qaida has been captured by US forces, American officials said yesterday.

Coalition troops were struggling to bring stability back to Iraq today as ethnic clashes and more looting broke out across the country.

Deadly shootings in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul underscored the difficulties still faced by Iraqis and US-led coalition troops seeking to restore order in the country, although the worst of the fighting might be over.

THE United Nations has asked for a fresh report from its chief weapons inspector Hans Blix as it considers sending teams back to Iraq.

The Pentagon is offering rewards of up to €185,000 for information on the whereabouts of leaders from Saddam Hussein’s toppled regime and its hidden weapons.

US FORCES say they have a sample of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s DNA as they try to crack the mystery of his whereabouts.

Countless tips from Iraqis about everything from POWs to weapons caches are providing essential information to British and American forces seeking to stabilise the country and unravel its mysteries.

US forces say they have a sample of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s DNA as they try to crack the mystery of his whereabouts.

American troops were fighting Iraqi forces in the centre of Saddam Hussein’s home town of Tikrit today, in what is expected to be the last battle of the war.

One of the seven US prisoners of war found safe and well said he was convinced his Iraqi captors were going to kill him.

US TROOPS yesterday launched a battle for Saddam Hussein’s last stronghold of Tikrit, with hundreds of tanks said to be attacking the northern city despite a surrender offer by tribal leaders.

US marines have discovered 278 artillery shells carrying a substance that tested positive as a chemical agent, senior officers said yesterday. But other US military sources played down the importance of the find.

IRAQI troops released seven captured US soldiers - some wounded but in good condition - to US Marines yesterday, a surprise discovery near where troops were entering Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit.

The final stronghold of Saddam Hussein’s regime appeared tonight to be on the verge of falling to allied forces.

Marines found seven missing US troops today on the road between Baghdad and Tikrit.

US forces were focusing their attention on Saddam Hussein’s ancestral power base of Tikrit yesterday, after adding the northern Iraqi city of Mosul to a string of rapid-fire battlefield victories.

SCENES of anarchy on the streets of Baghdad have sounded alarm bells for the US and British governments and aid agencies, and defence analysts warn US troops could face a dangerous law-and-order vacuum in Iraq.

Armed with rifles, Baghdad residents beat up looters and blockaded Baghdad streets today in an attempt to quell the pillaging and lawlessness running rampant in the Iraqi capital.

ABOUT the only thing missing from the American triumphalism and razzmatazz in Baghdad was a press release saying that Hello! magazine had secured the photographic rights to Saddam’s numerous palaces.

THE suddenness of Saddam Hussein’s fall has opened a power vacuum in Iraq, a power struggle in Washington and another transatlantic tug-of-war.

Military historians in America are already saying the US-led invasion of Iraq will be studied in army textbooks for years to come.

US tanks stormed through the heart of Baghdad today, seizing key buildings at the heart of Saddam’s regime and sending all Iraqis the message “We own Baghdad”.

Huge explosions echoed across Baghdad early today while south of the capital Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard came under ferocious Allied bombardment and ground troops engaged in fierce street battles.

IRAQI President Saddam Hussein chaired a meeting of top aides, including his elder son, Uday, making his first televised appearance since the outbreak of the US-led war, state television showed.

A MILITANT Palestinian group that claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in Israel said yesterday it had sent a first batch of its suicide bombers to Baghdad to fight invading US and British forces.

THE commander of the US-led war in Iraq denied yesterday that he had asked the Pentagon for more troops before invading the country but sidestepped a question about whether the war might last into the summer.

ALLIED aircraft kept up relentless pressure on Iraqi positions in and around Baghdad last night, as US military leaders fended off growing criticism of their war plans and insisted the campaign was still on course.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday flatly denied that he had overruled US military planners on the war strategy in Iraq.

A general from Saddam Hussein’s army has been captured in southern Iraq and is being pressed to provide strategic information, British officers said today.

A “massive terrorist facility” was attacked and destroyed by allied forces in northern Iraq, General Tommy Franks said today.

The alleged decision by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to overrule military advice and send reduced numbers of troops to the Gulf has left the forces in “an extremely dangerous situation”, an expert said today.

As many as 120,000 extra US troops are being sent to Iraq as Allied leaders prepare for a siege of Baghdad.