US deaths in Iraq hit 2,500

The US Defence Department confirmed today that 2,500 US troops have died in the Iraq war since it began more than three years ago, even as President George Bush hopes a recent spate of good news will reverse the war's widespread unpopularity at home.

The latest death was announced as Congress was launching into a symbolic election-year debate over the war, with Republicans rallying against calls by some Democrats to set a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops.