Willis said he thought Iraqis welcomed US troops

"We're here to support you," the star told troops as he sang a set of blues songs with his band, the Accelerator.

"If you catch him, just give me four seconds with Saddam Hussein," he said.

Willis will next fly south to visit US soldiers in Tikrit - Saddam's home town - before performing two concerts for troops in neighbouring Kuwait.

"Somebody that supports the military like he has and that comes to visit soldiers - that's important to us," said Greg Pagan, from 3rd Brigade of the 101st's Airborne Division based at Telafar.

'Thumbs up'

"It's awesome," said commander Col Michael Linnington. "It's great for morale. "He's a macho actor. Soldiers identify with action movies and action actors. He's a guy's guy."

During an interview Willis said: "Peculiar thing back home is that the liberal media was trying to portray it as a bad war.

"But being over here just a couple of days, seeing how well our troops and the allied troops are being received here, (I) think the Iraqi people are happy we're here," the Hollywood star said.

Willis will also visit troops in Kuwait

"Children are being taken care of, starting being inoculated, starting being looked after. Wherever these guys go they get thumbs up. They no longer have to contend with the terrorist leader," Willis said.

But the star later admitted he had not met many Iraqis because he had been travelling the country by helicopter.

Willis, a Republican party supporter, was one of the few celebrities to publicly back the US' stance during the recent war on Iraq, which was led by President Bush.

Willis recently played a US special forces commander sent in to rescue medical staff in war-torn Nigeria in the film Tears of the Sun.