Iraqi forces to take over in 12-18 months-US general

BAGHDAD, Aug 30 (Reuters) The top American general in Iraq said today he foresaw Iraq assuming control of its own security within 12 to 18 months with ''very little'' support from US-led forces.

But General George Casey said it was not clear yet at what point Iraqi troops would be able to go it alone and Washington would be able to start withdrawing its 135,000 troops.

''I'm not sure yet, and we'll adjust that as we go. But a lot of that, in fact the future coalition presence, 12-18 months from now, is going to be decided by the Iraqi government,'' he told reporters in Baghdad.

He denied suggestions that the deaths of 20 soldiers in a fierce battle between militiamen and the Iraqi army in the town of Diwaniya south of Baghdad on Monday was a setback in US efforts to stand up the new military.

''The Iraqi armed forces acquitted themselves quite well. They had losses, but they gave much better than they got,'' he said.

He said a mutiny by the 10th Iraqi Army Division, whose troops reportedly refused to redeploy from Basra to Baghdad, and the failure of Iraqi soldiers to stop the looting of a military base vacated by British troops were ''troubling events''.

''It's troubling. It's something we watch all the time, but it's a very small percentage of the Iraqi armed forces.'' The US military said earlier this week that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki would formally take charge of the Iraqi security forces next month. Casey has operational control of all Iraqi troops at present.

''I don't have a date, but I can see over the next 12-18 months the Iraqi security forces progressing to a point where they can take on the security responsibilities for the country, with very little coalition support,'' he said.

''During that process, they will still have our support and our substantial presence here to assist them.'' At present the Iraqi military, which comprises 10 divisions and about 130,000 men, is heavily reliant on the US military for logistical, intelligence and medical support.

Iraqi troops sweeping through Baghdad neighbourhoods in search of illegal weapons and insurgents as part of Operation Together Forward are backed by thousands of US troops equipped with Stryker armoured vehicles, Humvees and helicopter gunships.

Casey said security would not be restored until militias and insurgents were dealt with. Maliki has vowed to disband them but his task is made difficult by the fact that two of the most powerful are tied to parties within his own government.

''There have been, and there are ongoing discussions for several months that have produced some political and military steps that we believe will ultimately lead to the disarmament of the militias,'' he said.

But there were also militias that were ''no better than murdering criminal gangs'' and would have be ''dealt with firmly''.

REUTERS AKJ VV2225