Iraqi PM Says More Time Needed to Take Over Security Responsibilities
10 September 2007
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says security has improved across the country, but Iraqi forces need more time to take over full security responsibility from U.S.-led forces.
In an address to parliament Monday, Mr. Maliki said violence levels in Baghdad and the western province of al-Anbar had dropped 75 percent since the U.S.-led troop surge began in February.
The prime minister said his government has achieved success in preventing Iraq from slipping into a civil war. Mr. Maliki has faced widespread criticism for failing to bridge sectarian divisions.
As the prime minister spoke, violence continued in Iraq. A suicide car bomber killed at least eight people and wounded about 20 others near the northern city of Mosul.
The U.S. military said an American soldier has died from injuries sustained from rocket fire Sunday in Kirkuk province.
On Sunday, Mr. Maliki asked neighboring countries to help stop what he called "evil forces" from destabilizing the region.
He made the appeal at a Baghdad conference attended by Iraq's neighbors and delegations from the United Nations, European Union and the Group of Eight industrialized nations.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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