Iraq claims to have halted US advance

Iraq claimed tonight it repulsed "enemy" advance on area bordering Jordan and acknowledged firing missiles on Kuwait.

Iraq claimed tonight it repulsed "enemy" advance on area bordering Jordan and acknowledged firing missiles on Kuwait.

The armed forces command, in a statement read on state television, put the Iraqi armed forces' casualties at four dead and five wounded.

It said the "enemy" tried to cross Iraq's border at Al-Anbar province on the border with Jordan, but was repulsed.

It added that Iraqi missiles hit enemy concentrations in Kuwait on three locations, but did not say how many were fired.

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EU leaders were tonight considering a draft statement on Iraq which stated that the transatlantic partnerships remained a "fundamental strategic policy" for the EU.

The proposed form of words emphasises that the EU's objective remained "full and effective" disarmament.

It said the UN must continue to play a central role during and after the current crisis.

And it called on the European Commission and the EU's foreign policy chief Mr Javier Solana "to explore means by which the EU might help the Iraqi people to achieve the objectives of living in freedom, dignity and prosperity under a representative government".

But, during a tense but cordial hour-long pre-dinner debate at the Brussels summit, French President Mr Chirac insisted on dropping another paragraph which expressed regret "that the opportunity offered to Iraq by (Security Council Resolution) 1441 was not taken and that a peaceful resolution of the Iraqi crisis was not achieved".