The American Defence Secretary, William Cohen, has said Washington is reducing its military presence in the Gulf region, but will still keep nearly twenty-thousand troops there.

Mr Cohen was speaking at the start of a visit to the Gulf to meet the forces involved in last week's air raids on Iraq.

He said a number of heavy bombers and other warplanes would be sent back to the United States from their Indian Ocean base in Diego Garcia.

Although troops would be reduced by around a quarter, said Mr Cohen, enough would remain to renew attacks on Iraq if it threatened American allies.