President George W Bush has delivered a speech to mark the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.


Speaking at the Pentagon, Mr Bush said "removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision".

And he went on to say that the recent "surge" of US troops to Iraq has brought about "a major strategic victory in the broader war on terror".

The speech comes amid criticism in the US of the war, with some critics pointing to its high cost.

In his speech, Mr Bush dismissed what he called "exaggerated estimates".

He said: "The costs are necessary when we consider the cost of a strategic victory for our enemies in Iraq."

New allies

Mr Bush argued that fighting Islamic militants in Iraq helped to prevent attacks on targets in the US.

"The terrorists who murder the innocent in the streets of Baghdad want to murder the innocent in the streets of American cities," he said.

"Defeating this enemy in Iraq will make it less likely we will face this enemy here at home."

He also made the case that by working with Sunni Arabs from the Awakening Councils to defeat al-Qaeda, the US was successfully driving a wedge between militants and the Arab mainstream.

"In Iraq," he said, "we are witnessing the first large-scale Arab uprising against Osama Bin Laden. And the significance of this development cannot be overstated."

Meanwhile in Iraq, a female suicide bomber killed six people at a bus station in Balad Ruz in Diyala province, according to Iraqi police.

And near the northern city of Kirkuk, US troops shot dead three Iraqi policemen by mistake, an incident officials described as "a tragic accident, which was sincerely regretted".