US President Barack Obama has refused to apologise for accusing Mitt Romney of outsourcing jobs while in charge of Bain Capital.

The United States military was preparing to end its Iraq combat mission after seven years of fighting that cost thousands of lives.

United States forces are set to end their combat mission in Iraq within days despite an upsurge in deadly attacks.

Iraq’s security forces were on high alert on Monday in Baghdad as US troops finalised their withdrawal from the conflict-hit nation’s urban areas.