Four US soldiers plotted to assassinate Barack Obama and overthrow the government, a court has heard.

Four US soldiers plotted to assassinate Barack Obama and overthrow the government, a court has heard.

The retired general who commanded the US Army’s 3rd Infantry Division when its tanks led the charge to Baghdad in 2003 says the initial war planning was flawed and probably contributed to the drawn-out conflict with insurgents in Iraq.

Hundreds of US and Iraqi forces today launched their biggest Baghdad raid in recent weeks, moving on foot through a central neighbourhood and rounding up dozens of suspected insurgents, the military said.