Iraq latest: At-a-glance

Iraq latest: At-a-glance

BBC News Online charts the latest developments in the Iraq conflict.

[All times GMT and approximate]

Monday 24 March

0955: US defence official confirms an Apache helicopter has come down in Iraq.

0910: Iraqi television broadcasts pictures of what it says is a US helicopter shot down in Karbala, south of Baghdad.

0825: The official Syrian news agency says five Syrian civilians were killed by an American missile near the Iraqi border.

0805: Saddam Hussein promises "victory is near" in a speech broadcast on Iraqi television.

0658: Iraqi television says Saddam Hussein will make an "important and historic" speech to the nation soon.

0545: Explosions are heard amid reports of the bombardment of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

0415: Philippines President Gloria Arroyo announces expulsion of one Iraqi diplomat and one member of staff at the embassy.

0250: UK Ministry of Defence says two British troops are missing in southern Iraq after their vehicles came under attack.

0220: Australian defence officials say special forces have destroyed a missile command bunker deep in Iraqi territory.

0205: A US TV reporter says US helicopters are attacking Iraqi Republican Guard positions near the city of Karbala south of Baghdad.

0120: US military say they are investigating "sites of potential interest" following reports of US troops reaching a chemical plant south of Baghdad.

0005: Huge explosions reported in central Baghdad.

Sunday, 23 March

2355: American B52 bombers take off from Fairford air base in western England.

2230: Kuwaiti Defence Ministry reports Iraqi missile intercepted by Patriot missile over northern Kuwait.

2120: The British Royal Air Force says two crew of the Tornado aircraft accidentally shot down by a US Patriot missile on Sunday morning are dead.

1910: More heavy explosions are heard in Baghdad

1905: US Lt-Gen John Abizaid tells a news briefing at the US military Central Command in Qatar that a US supply convoy has been ambushed by Iraqi troops near Nasiriya, with several US soldiers injured and 12 reported missing.

1900: UK Prime Minister Tony Blair condemns Iraqi television pictures of the US POWs as a "flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention."

1840: Iraq says 25 US soldiers were killed in fighting in and around Nasiriya over the weekend.

1830:The United Nations again appeals to all the military forces involved in the war in Iraq to do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties.

1815:Turkish police confirm that a bomb - thought to be from a US fighter plane - has fallen in Turkey's south-eastern province near the Syrian border. It says there are no casualties.

1805: US President George W. Bush says "Saddam Hussein is losing control of his country" and the US-led military campaign "is achieving its objectives". Mr Bush says the people who mistreat US prisoners of war will be treated as "war criminals".

1800: Iraqi Defence Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmed tells a news conference that Baghdad will respect the Geneva Convention and will not harm captured US soldiers.

1755: Kurdish commander says the battle near the town of Irbil in northern Iraq was between Iraqi soldiers trying to defect and the loyal army unit. Earlier reports said the fighting was between the Kurdish forces with support of US troops and the Iraqi army.

1710: Explosions are heard near the town of Mosul, close to the front line of the Kurdish-held enclave in northern Iraq.

1700: Missing British TV reporter Terry Lloyd is believed to be dead after apparently coming under friendly fire in southern Iraq, his employers ITN say.