Petraeus: Iraq military objectives largely being met
WASHINGTON - General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, told Congress Monday that the military objectives of the troop surge were largely being met.
"As a bottom line up front, the military objectives of the surge are in large measure being met," he told a hearing called to assess progress in the Iraq war.
Petraeus gave the assessment at the start of a highly-anticipated hearing on the situation in Iraq and the future of the four-year old US military presence in the country.
US Iraq troops to pre-surge levels by `next summer`: General
Iraq war commander General David Petraeus said Monday it should be possible to reduce the 168,000 strong US force in Iraq to pre-surge levels by "next summer."
"I believe that we will be able to reduce our forces to the pre-surge level of Brigade Combat Teams by next summer, without jeopardizing the security gains that we have fought so hard to achieve," Petraeus said, at a pivotal House of Representatives hearing on the state of the war.
Nine US soldiers killed in Baghdad accident
BAGHDAD - Nine US soldiers have been killed in Iraq, including seven in a vehicle accident in western Baghdad on Monday, the military said.
Eleven other soldiers were wounded in the accident, while two detainees who were being transported by the soldiers were also killed, the military said, adding a third detainee was wounded.
"The cause of the accident is under investigation," the military said without elaborating.
Another soldier died in an accident when his vehicle overturned on Monday east of Baghdad, the military said in a separate statement.
Two other soldiers were wounded in that accident.
The military also announced the death of another soldier from wounds sustained when insurgents fired a rocket at his patrol in the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk.
The soldier died on Sunday. Another soldier was wounded in the attack, the military said.
The latest fatality took the military`s losses in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion to 3,760, according to an AFP count based on Pentagon figures.
