Iraq refuses to extend deadline for withdrawal of US troops

IRAQ will not extend the June 30 deadline for US troops to withdraw from urban areas, a spokesman said yesterday despite concerns about a resurgence of violence in recent weeks.

The government has insisted it is committed to the timeline laid out in a US-Iraqi security agreement that calls for American forces to pull back from urban areas by the summer and from the rest of the country by the end of 2011.

But a series of high-profile bombings have cast doubt on the readiness of Iraqi forces to take over security responsibilities.

In particular, US commanders have pointed to the volatile northern city of Mosul as a possible exception to the withdrawal plans.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh, however, said the deadlines were “non-extendable.”

“These dates cannot be extended and this is consistent with the transfer and handover of responsibility to Iraqi security forces,” al-Dabbagh said in a statement.

In the latest violence, a car bomb exploded yesterday near the oil ministry in Baghdad, killing one policeman and wounding three others.

North of the capital, a Sunni tribal group postponed plans to disband yesterday after receiving reassurances that its leader would be released, the acting chief said.

The move could avert the latest showdown between Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government and Sunni groups.

The so-called awakening councils, which originally were funded by the US military but are now the government’s responsibility, are considered a key factor in security gains over the past two years.

A step back by the councils could leave areas vulnerable to attacks.