Iraq forces 'to take over by 2007'

Baghdad: President Jalal Talabani said on Wednesday he foresees Iraqi forces taking over security in all 18 provinces by the end of the year.

Talabani, who was speaking at a news conference, said the transition will be gradual and multinational forces will be playing a supportive role to the Iraqi troops.

"The role of the multinational forces is a role to help the Iraqi armed forces, and, God willing, the Iraqi armed forces will at the end of the year take over all of the security in all the Iraqi provinces, little by little, gradually, and, God willing, we will be in a position to do that," he said.

Also, he said, "We have optimism that we will eliminate terrorism."

The remarks come during a volatile period in Baghdad and across the country, where Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence has raged for many months and attacks continue unabated, despite a big security crackdown in the capital.

Two bombs exploded in a Baghdad soccer stadium on Wednesday, killing 12 people and wounding 14, police in the Iraqi capital said.

Elsewhere, two US troops died in Iraq's Anbar province and five people were also killed in a bombing in Baghdad and a shooting in Diyala province.

On Tuesday, several dozen people were killed in attacks.

Talabani's pronouncement on a security transition is seen as optimistic. The US military is largely in control of the country's security, and the British and Polish militaries each head a division.

Those multi-national forces have had their hands full for years, facing obstacles from the Iraqi insurgency and sectarian hostilities in their efforts to establish security in the country.

US officials indicated that the sooner such a transition could take place, the better. But no one could say it would occur quickly.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters Wednesday that while he didn't see the context of the remarks or the translation of it, "obviously, the hope of the Iraqis, the hopes of the Americans, the hopes of the troops is that the Iraqis will continue to take over responsibility for the security of their country and that over time we'll be able to draw down our forces as conditions permit."

A senior Bush administration official told CNN the focus should be on what Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, not Talabani, says.

The official wouldn't call Talabani's comment premature but said any formal announcement on the matter would come from al-Maliki, in consultation with the top US commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey.

In his address last week before a joint meeting of the US Congress, al-Maliki didn't provide a time frame for a security leadership transition.

"The completion of Iraq's forces form the necessary basis for the withdrawal of multinational forces. But it's only then, only when Iraq's forces are fully capable, will the job of the multinational forces be complete," he said.

"Our Iraqi forces have accomplished much and have gained a great deal of field experience to eventually enable them to triumph over the terrorists and to take over the security portfolio and extend peace through the country."