ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, June 5: US President George Bush’s Air Force One flew for an hour on Thursday over Iraq, escorted by four fighter jets, on his way back to the United States from Qatar.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters Air Force One flew over Baghdad, Iraq, at an altitude of 9,500 metres and at a ground speed of 751.5km. Mr Bush entered Iraqi air space and flew over the capital at 0955 GMT.

As the US president flew over the city, once the headquarters of toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the pilot tipped one of the jumbo jet’s wings to improve the view.

Mr Fleischer said Mr Bush looked out a window on the left side of the plane, with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and chief of staff Andrew Card beside him.

Mr Bush pointed out landmarks in Baghdad, including the site of the first US attack on the capital on March 20, when American bombs hit a bunker where Saddam was believed to be meeting top lieutenants, Fleischer said.

Mr Fleischer said the weather was clear and Bush could also see Baghdad International Airport and Saddam City.

The jumbo jet was over Iraq for a total of one hour and six minutes, he added.

But Fleischer said Bush did not intend to make an unscheduled stop in the Iraqi capital.

“We’re going home,” the spokesman said. “It’s not the purpose of the trip.”

Fleischer said 747, especially equipped for the president, was escorted by four F18s from the USS Nimitz, two on each wing.

The US president was on his way back to the United States after a six-nation trip to Europe and the Middle East, including a G8 summit in Evian, France, and a meeting with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers in Aqaba, Jordan.

A senior administration official told reporters that before Mr Bush departed Doha, Qatar, he was briefed over breakfast by Gen Tommy Franks, commander of the US Central Command, and the top US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer. Bush visited US troops at the base in Qatar, where the US military had its combat operations center.—Reuters