A draft agreement with the United States requires US troops to leave Iraq by the end of 2011 unless asked to stay, and gives Iraq the right to try them for felonies committed while off duty, Iraq said today.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh also said Baghdad will seek an extension of a UN mandate for the US troops if the pact is not in place by the end of this year.
The pact, hammered out over months of negotiations between Washington and Baghdad, has been submitted to Iraqi politicians for approval.
Meanwhile, a top British commander said the Iraqi government has not asked for the removal of British troops from southern Iraq, despite a report that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki believes combat forces are no longer needed in the region.
"The Iraqi government haven't communicated that sentiment to me," said Major General Andy Salmon, the British commander of multinational forces in southeastern Iraq.
Maj Gen Salmon, who commands most of the 4,100 British troops in Iraq, said Iraqi military officials continue to seek the training and joint-operational assistance his soldiers have been providing to local security forces.
He was speaking after the Times of London quoted Mr Maliki as saying there was no longer a need for British troops to maintain security and control in the mainly Shi'ite region.
"I know that he (Mr Maliki) feels we don't need combat troops in Basra. And, of course, we haven't got combat troops in Basra," Maj Gen Salmon told Pentagon reporters in a video link from Iraq.
British forces left their base in the southern city of Basra last year for a base on city's outskirts.
Maj Gen Salmon said the training of Iraqi security forces is "primarily the effort that we're involved in right now. Partnering, training, giving that kind of assistance."
"I spoke with the Iraqi commander last night to get his sentiment and feel for all of that, and those are the sorts of things he really feels he needs to enable Iraqi security forces to sustain security into the future," the general said.
Reuters