The BBC's Jeremy Bowen: Iraq claims it has been a victim of Western aggression

In the latest of a series of claims and counter-claims about the success of the operation, the UK Defence Secretary, George Robertson, said three-quarters of the sites targeted in Operation Desert Fox were destroyed.

He said there was increasing evidence that the air campaign had been successful.

"We know that we have done considerable damage to the war machine of Iraq," he said.

The BBC's Bridget Kendall: Can the Foreign Office turn back the tide of public scepticism?

Mr Robertson said that foreign journalists in Baghdad were prevented by the Iraqi authorities from seeing what really happened, and that the appearance of normality showed that the strikes had been successful in avoiding civilian casualties.

On Monday, Iraq said the raids had caused more civilian than military casualties.

British and US forces targeted 100 sites during their four-day campaign, which ended on Saturday, hitting 85 of the targets and destroying 74, said the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday.

Watch the MoD slide show

Air Marshal John Day, Director of Operations at the MoD, produced a series of slides showing damage to key installations.

• One showed the hangar at Tallil Airfield, which Britain says housed pilotless aircraft designed to deliver biological and chemical bombs, with large areas of its roof destroyed and debris littering the ground nearby.

• Another showed the Taji steel fabrication plant with two buildings believed to be used to make components for nuclear programmes destroyed but the rest of the plant intact.

US and UK deny missile attacks

The MoD briefing came as an Iraqi military spokesman reported two new violations of Iraqi airspace by warplanes in the south of the country. Iraq said the warplanes fired two missiles.

Damage in Qorna, a city south of Baghdad

Both Britain and the United States have denied any involvement.

Meanwhile, the US has said it is prepared to consider expanding the United Nations-sponsored scheme under which Iraq is allowed to sell oil in return for buying food and medicine.

It said the limit should be expanded if it is established that there is a need for more food, especially with the falling world oil prices.

Based on last year's estimate, Iraq is allowed to sell more than five billion dollars of oil every six months to buy food and medicine.

Relief efforts have been continuing following the strikes with a convoy of 100 UN trucks crossing into Iraq from Jordan carrying urgently needed food supplies.

On the diplomatic front, talks are still going on at the UN about a new approach to relations with Iraq.

But there are serious divisions about the way forward with France proposing a radical revision to the existing weapons inspection regime, and Russia calling for the head of the weapons inspectors, Richard Butler, to be replaced.

However, Britain and the US say they will strike again if Saddam Hussein refuses to co-operate with the current weapons inspection programme.