BAGHDAD, Jan 7: The Pentagon has ordered a top-level review of its strategy in Iraq as nine US troops were reported killed on Friday and US President George W. Bush voices hope for a strong turnout in elections barely three weeks away.

Concern was also mounting for a French reporter missing in Iraq, while a US military policeman seen as the ringleader of detainee abuses at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison was due to be court-martialed at a US army base.

Mr Bush sought to encourage a high turnout at the polls despite the mounting insurgent carnage in the country. He described 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces as 'relatively calm' and added that in some "the terrorists are trying to stop people from voting".

The second-in-command of US forces in Iraq, Lieut-Gen Thomas Metz, told reporters on Thursday security was lacking in four provinces in central Iraq but said postponing the elections would be a mistake.

According to an internal State Department poll, only 32 per cent of Sunnis are 'very likely' to vote and 88 per cent said they would stay away from the polls if they feared attacks.

A US official said the findings were 'not surprising' but said efforts would continue to encourage the participation of Sunnis. Amid increasing unrest, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is sending a retired general to Iraq to evaluate the development of Iraqi security forces, a Pentagon spokesman said on Friday.

The mission, first reported by The New York Times, reflected the administration's deepening concern over the situation in Iraq. The Times said retired Gen Gary Luck's review will be 'open ended' and include a broader look at US military operations, including US troop levels and the strategy for fighting the insurgency.

In the latest attack against US forces, a bomb tore apart an armoured vehicle in Baghdad on Thursday, killing seven US soldiers, while two marines died in Al Anbar province.

It was the largest number of US troops killed in a single attack since last month's suicide bombing in a military mess hall at a Mosul base that killed 22 people, including 14 US service members.

In a related development, Mr Allawi extended emergency laws for 30 days in a bid to thwart violence aimed at intimidating voters set to choose a 275-seat parliament. But Iraq's sizeable Sunni minority, whose leaders are calling for a delay or boycott of the vote, still seemed unconvinced.

In Texas, US Specialist Charles Graner was to go on trial by court-martial facing a maximum sentence of more than 20 years in prison if found guilty on charges emanating from the abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib jail near Baghdad.

His trial at the Fort Hood army base will be the first court martial in the Abu Ghraib scandal to be held in the United States. Graner, 36, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Meanwhile, French President Jacques Chirac said he was 'worried' about the fate of 43-year-old Florence Aubenas, a correspondent for the French daily Liberation missing in Iraq. In Samarra, two Iraqi soldiers and a civilian were killed in clashes with armed insurgents, while an Iraqi security officer in Kut, was killed overnight by gunmen. -AFP