Iraqi PM: Terrorists Losing Capability Despite Recent Attacks
By VOA News
12 March 2009
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said terrorists are losing in Iraq, despite a recent spike of violence including two suicide attacks this week that killed more than 60 people.
Mr. Maliki said during a visit to Australia Thursday that Iraqi forces will be able to maintain security after U.S. troops withdraw.
A suicide bombing Sunday outside a Baghdad police academy killed 28 people. On Tuesday, another suicide bomber west of Baghdad killed 33 people - including tribal leaders, security officials and journalists who had been attending a reconciliation conference in Abu Ghraib.
A group called the Islamic State of Iraq, which is linked to al-Qaida, claimed responsibility Thursday for the Abu Ghraib attack.
On Wednesday, two separate explosions in the northern city of Mosul killed three soldiers and wounded at least 13 other people, including civilians.
Even though overall violence has declined in Iraq in recent months, the violence this week, including smaller, less lethal attacks, has raised fears of renewed instability.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday the recent suicide bombings in Iraq have not changed the U.S. plan to withdraw combat forces from Iraq.
During his Australia visit, Mr. Maliki met with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and other officials in the capital, Canberra.
Australia withdrew its 550 combat troops from Iraq last year and is expected to pull out its remaining force, which numbers more than 100, in the near future.
Mr. Rudd said the relationship between the two countries is moving from a military focus to a more broad-based engagement that will strengthen economic ties.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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