Bush yesterday acknowledged that replacing US troops with Iraqi soldiers had been hampered by the lacklustre performance of Iraqi units, including instances in which they have fled rather than fight.

At least 22 people were killed and 50 wounded today in an attack at a US and Iraqi base near the northern city of Mosul. A US Defence Department official said unknown assailants used rockets and mortars.

A majority of Americans among those who believed at the beginning that the Iraq war would be swift and victorious now think it was a mistake and the January 30 elections to be held in the country would not be honest.