Washington threatened to open new splits in the UN yesterday with an appeal for other nations to "do more" to keep the peace on the ground in Iraq.

As Colin Powell signalled that America believed other UN countries should give more support to an international peace keeping force, anti-war nations said the White House was attempting to exploit Tuesday's Baghdad bombing to garner troop contributions.

The call came amid fresh efforts to restore confidence in the Middle East peace plan following the latest spate of attack and counter attack.

The Telegraph concludes today that the US-sponsored "road map" appears to be in shreds following the wave of violence in the region.