Warsaw - Poland marked the end of its mission in Iraq with a ceremony on Wednesday to welcome the last returning contingent of soldiers in the northwestern city of Szczecin.

Some 100 Polish soldiers landed Tuesday morning at a nearby airport, marking the end of the country's five-year mission.

"There is no good war," Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at the ceremony. "War always brings evil, blood, suffering and casualties, but the sacrifices of a soldier for his country has the deepest meaning."

Tusk said the mission served Poland's defence, and that the soldiers left Iraq safer than it was five years ago. Tusk had promised a quick withdrawal during his election campaign.

Washington - The US raid against a top al-Qaeda operative this week in Syria was the latest effort by the Bush administration to step up pressure on the terrorist network, even by striking in countries without the approval of their governments.

Syria strongly protested the helicopter-borne attack on Sunday, 8 kilometres beyond the Iraqi border, where the United States is believed to have killed an al-Qaeda lieutenant responsible for smuggling fighters, weapons and money into Iraq.

The White House has not publicly acknowledged the attack. Damascus says that only civilians were killed.

Baghdad - The United States will be asked to consider a series of amendments to an agreement on the status of its forces in Iraq, Iraqi officials announced Tuesday.

Baghdad  - Four people were killed on Tuesday and another four were wounded in an armed attack on eight policemen in the northern city of Mosul, the Voices of Iraq (VOI) reported.

Unknown gunmen attacked eight new volunteer members on their way to work in the al-Amel district of Mosul. The gunmen fled to an unknown destination, police told VOI.

In Baghdad, meanwhile, seven people were injured in two separate blasts.

In the first blast in the al-Nahda district of central Baghdad, four people were wounded, police told VOI.

The second blast hit al-Nidal street in central Baghdad, wounding three people, police added.

Washington - The White House refused to comment Monday on reports of a deadly US military strike in Syria near the border with Iraq that has outraged Damascus and other Arab countries.

"I'm not going to comment on it at all," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

The Syrian government and Arab leaders in the region have expressed anger over the purported US helicopter raid Sunday targeting militants in the town of Abu Kamal.

The Syrian government says civilians, including children, were among the eight dead.