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Bush, Blair to discuss Iraq exit

Coalition forces may begin handover of security in provinces by July

PHOTO: AP

ON A MISSION: U.S. soldiers exit a Chinook helicopter during an operation against militants in Samarra, Iraq, recently.

London: British Prime Minister Tony Blair will hold talks with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington later this week and they will likely focus on the withdrawal of coalition troops from Iraq, officials said on Tuesday.

Mr. Blair will arrive in Washington ``at the end of the week,'' his official spokesman said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity in line with policy.

The spokesman said he could not confirm the precise date of the visit because of security concerns. Mr. Bush will host a dinner before the two leaders hold a joint news conference, a spokewoman for the Downing Street office said.

Mr. Blair was in Iraq on Tuesday to support the country's new Government.

During his visit to Baghdad, Mr. Blair said coalition troops are in now a position to begin the process of handing over control of some Iraqi provinces to local security forces.

But Mr. Blair refused to set a timetable for the withdrawal of the 8,000 British troops and said their return home will be governed by conditions on the ground and by the readiness of Iraqis to assume security responsibilities.

Meanwhile, newspaper reports aid Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair would discuss plans for an accelerated exit of troops from Iraq, starting in July.

The two allies will also call on world leaders to help with their withdrawal ambitions, another daily said. The Guardian reported that the withdrawal plan would be much faster and more ambitious than expected.

Britain would begin the process with a handover to Iraqi forces in Muthanna province in July, the daily said without citing sources.

The United States, with an estimated 130,000 soldiers on the ground, would follow suit in Najaf, a holy Shia city south of Baghdad. ``Other withdrawals will quickly follow over the remainder of the year,'' The Guardian said.

22 killed in violence

At least 22 persons were killed on Tuesday in attacks including a car bombing on a busy Baghdad street, marring the first week of Iraq's new Cabinet which has set restoring security as top priority.

The car bomb in the south-eastern district of Baghdad al-Jadeeda targeting a police patrol killed five persons and wounded seven. The neighbourhood has been hit repeatedly over the past three days. Also in Mosul, a former official of the Baath party which ruled Iraq under Saddam Hussein was killed in a drive-by shooting. — AP.

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