Iraq can handle own security

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says the country’s security forces alone would be able to handle security and repel threats by al-Qaeda and other militant groups.

“Thanks to the intelligence efforts, we have managed to detect many enemy cells belonging to the terrorist al-Qaeda organization and others,” Aswat al-Iraq news agency quoted Maliki as saying on Sunday during a meeting with Commander of US Forces in Iraq General Lloyd Austin and US Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey.

General Austin, for his part, said that the Iraqi forces are “up to the challenge” of providing security. He stressed that Washington will support Baghdad government to restore security and stability in Iraq.

US forces ended combat operations in Iraq on August 31, some seven years after former President George W. Bush launched a war against the Arab country.