ROBIN COOK laid down a challenge to Tony Blair last night by condemning the war against Saddam Hussein as "bloody and unnecessary" and urging the prime minister to bring Britain's forces home.

Cook's call came as Iraq threatened to send suicide bombers on missions to Britain in a "dirty war" to terrorise its enemies. In the first such attack on American forces within Iraq, four soldiers died yesterday when a man in civilian clothes waved to them from his car at a checkpoint near the central city of Najaf, then blew himself up as they approached.

In an article published today Cook, who resigned from the cabinet 13 days ago in protest at the conflict, declares: "I have already had my fill of this bloody and unnecessary war. I want our troops home and I want them home before more of them are killed."

He also attacks President George W Bush and — by extension — Tony Blair for the "badly planned" conduct of the campaign and says that British forces have "ended up exposed by the mistakes of US politicians".

"Nobody should start a war on the assumption that the enemy's army will co-operate," Cook says in the Sunday Mirror. "But that is exactly what President Bush has done. And now his marines have reached the outskirts of Baghdad he does not seem to know what to do next."

The current encirclement of Iraq's second city of Basra, he writes, gives a chilling foretaste of what could be in store for the capital. "There is no more brutal form of warfare than siege. People go hungry. The water and power to provide the sinews of a city snap. Children die."

Government insiders had been braced for an explosion from Cook since his resignation. His article was the clearest example yet of the deep unease even at the highest level within the Labour party and could provide a new focus for opposition to Blair from the left. Tam Dalyell, a leading anti-war Labour MP, yesterday branded the prime minister "mad" for involving Britain in the war.

Downing Street last night stressed the government's determination to continue the campaign: "Robin Cook has a well-known position on Iraq and it is not one that the government shares," said a spokesman.

Cook's comments coincided with a poll showing popular support for the war is rising. Despite setbacks in the first 10 days of fighting which have cost 23 British lives and sparked fears the conflict will drag on for months, 84% of people believe it should be seen through to a successful conclusion, according to the survey by ICM Research.

The threat of further suicide attacks was issued by Saddam's vice-president, Taha Yassin Ramadan, who said they would now become "routine military policy".

In a clear threat to take the war to the British and Americans on their own territory, he added: "We will use any means to kill our enemy in our land and we will follow the enemy into its land."

Iraq could not match the firepower of the United States, Ramadan said. "They have bombs that can kill 500 people, but I am sure the day will come when a single martyrdom operation will kill 5,000 enemies."

The man responsible for yesterday's attack was named as Ali Jaafar al-Noamani, a non-commissioned officer in the Iraqi army and the father of at least five children. Saddam hailed Noamani as a hero, awarded him two posthumous medals and promoted him to colonel.

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