Iraqi PM demands withdrawal timetable

Iraq’s prime minister Nouri Maliki said today no security agreement with the US could be reached unless it included a “specific deadline” for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

Last week, US and Iraqi officials said the two sides had agreed tentatively to a schedule which included a broad pullout of combat forces by the end of 2011 with a residual US force remaining behind to continue training and advising the Iraqi security forces.