The top US commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, faced a tough challenge on Tuesday from both Republicans sceptical about war strategy and Democrats who want a swifter withdrawal of American troops.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem called off a visit planned for Tuesday to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the first since a public row between the two countries, a Saudi official said.

The wife of Fateh Al Islam chief Shaker Abssi has insisted that her husband is dead and that a body she viewed at a morgue was his, despite DNA tests that have proved otherwise.