The Iraqi government on Monday voiced its commitment to the timetable of U.S. troops' pullout from Iraqi cities and towns by June 30 and of a complete withdrawal from Iraq by the end of 2011, Xinhua reported.
"The Iraqi government is committed to the timeline in the U.S.- Iraqi security agreement concerning the withdrawal of American forces from all cities and towns by June 30 of this year," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement.
Iraq was also committed to the 2011 deadline, said the statement, adding that the withdrawal deadline in "on-extendable" and that the process of handing over responsibilities to Iraqi security forces is underway.
Al-Dabbagh's comments came in response to mounting concerns that recent rise in violence may keep the U.S. troops staying in some Iraqi cities, namely the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh.
According to a security pact signed late last year between Iraq and the United States, the U.S. forces are to withdraw from cities and towns by the end of June and from the rest of the country by the end of 2011.
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