arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

The BBC's Pentagon correspondent says the use of the B-1B Lancer to attack two targets south of Baghdad for the first time since 1998 is another sign of US forces gearing up for war.

Mr Bush will meet the British and Spanish prime ministers on Sunday amid diplomatic deadlock at the United Nations over US-led plans to disarm Iraq.

At the UN itself, weapons inspectors said they had received a 25-page letter from Baghdad claiming to account for alleged missing chemical weapons agents.

Officials said they would study the letter, written partly in English and partly in Arabic, which is said to explain how Iraq has destroyed its stocks of the highly toxic VX nerve agent.

Meanwhile, another weekend of anti-war protests is planned, with rallies expected in many cities, including the US and Spanish capitals.

Radar targeted

Our Pentagon correspondent, Nick Childs, says US defence officials are trying to play down the new deployment of the B1-B Lancer bombers.

B-1 BOMBER

Supersonic speed
Each costs $200m
Can carry 24 satellite-guided bombs

But he says their use is significant nonetheless, and the planes would be expected to play an important role in the opening stages of any war.

The Lancer bombed two radar sites in western Iraq, US officials said. Our correspondent says that area has been a particular focus of air strikes recently, as it is from there that hidden Scud missiles could be fired at Israel.

A number of B1-Bs have been deployed to the Gulf as part of the military build-up.