Iraq's leader heads to summit with Bush

Fierce fighting between coalition forces and insurgents shut down the city of Baqouba, north of Baghdad, today and gunfire crackled across the capital, as Prime Minister Nouri Maliki travelled to Jordan for a summit with US President George Bush aimed at halting the country’s escalating sectarian violence and paving the way for a reduction of American troops.

By 10am, 13 insurgents, six policemen, and five civilians had been killed, including two Iraqi females who were caught up in a coalition raid north of the capital, police and US officials said.