US and Iraq ‘very close’ to sealing security pact

US and Iraqi negotiators are “very close” to reaching a long-term security pact that will decide the fate of US troops in Iraq, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari claimed yesterday.

A series of bombings, meanwhile, targeted Iraqi security forces and civilians nationwide, killing at least nine people and wounding dozens, including the commander of Kurdish forces in a town near the Iranian border.

Zebari said the Iraqis were insisting on the inclusion of a “very clear timeline” for the withdrawal of US-led forces, but he refused to disclose any dates being discussed.

The main sticking points have been over the authorisation of US military operations, immunity for US troops and sovereignty issues, Zebari said, adding that both sides “are compromising on all these issues.”

Zebari said negotiators were “on the brink” of an agreement.

“They have achieved substantial progress,” he said. “We are very close to reaching a final agreement.”

The Iraqi government has been holding firm for a withdrawal schedule — a move the Iraqis said was essential to win parliamentary approval. But US acceptance of a specific timeline would represent a dramatic reversal of US policy in place since the war began in March 2003.