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.

Iraq today claimed to have shot down two Apache helicopters and said it was holding the two Allied pilots prisoner.

General Tommy Franks, chief of US Central Command, said today that his troops are ready to launch operations in Iraq – if Washington asks them to.