Only 18 per cent of Iraqis have confidence in US-led forces, a new poll showed on Monday, as US President George W. Bush faced anti-war protests at home four years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

With Iraq bogged down in sectarian violence that threatens to tip the country into civil war, Bush announced a strategy shift earlier this year and has started sending some 26,000 reinforcements for a security crackdown focused on Baghdad.