US Commander Sees Iraq Assuming Full Control of Security Duty in 12-18 Months
24 October 2006
The top U.S. general in Iraq says Iraqi government forces should be able to take full control of security in the country within the next 12 to 18 months.
General George Casey told a Baghdad news conference Tuesday that the United States will continue to focus on reducing the number of its troops in Iraq, but he said he will ask for more troops if he thinks it is necessary.
Also at the news conference, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said Iraqi leaders have agreed that by the end of the year they will develop a timeline on meeting key goals such as improving security and the economy.
Both officials also again criticized Iran and Syria, accusing Iraq's neighbors of supporting insurgents.
In other developments, the U.S. military said its forces accidentally killed four Iraqi firefighters in Fallujah.
A statement said the military received a report that a firetruck had been hijacked. U.S. troops pulled over a truck that matched the description, then mistook the firefighters for armed insurgents and shot them. The military said the actual hijacked truck was later located, but its occupants had fled.
Also today, the military said two American soldiers died from wounds sustained in combat in the western province of Anbar. The latest deaths raise the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq this month to 89.
U.S. forces continue house-to-house searches in Baghdad for an American soldier who has been missing since Monday. U.S. officials say the soldier is an American of Iraqi descent who worked as a translator. Officials have not said whether the soldier was abducted, attacked, or left duty on his own.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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