Security situation in Iraq grave, says Britain

New Delhi, Nov 3 (UNI) British Foreign Secretray Margaret Beckett today said the security situation in Iraq was very grave but the British and American troops were making strong efforts to tackle violence in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities.

''There is no dounbt that the security situation is very grave in Iraq and that there is a level of violence and indeed of killings which is quite appalling,'' Ms Beckett said.

She was answering questions after delivering a lecture on ''UK-India Partnership Key to Tackling Global Challenges''' at a function jointly organised by the Energy Research Institute (TERI) and Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) here.

The British Foreign Minister said Britain, the United States and their allies had not expected the soaring level of violence and sectarian killings in Iraq in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion.

Ms Beckett, who began a week-long visit to India yesterday, said it was a matter of debate as to whether the post-conflict scenario in Iraq had been anticipated correctly.

The British Foreign Minister's remarks come in the backdrop of a growing public pressure in Britian and the United States to pull out troops back from Iraq.

In the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion that resulted in the ouster of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, US and British forces have been suffering mounting casaulties.

Increasing sectarian violence and insurgent attacks are also killing hundreds of Iraqi civilians every week.

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