Bush suggests prolonged troops' stay in Iraq

George W. Bush said yesterday that US troops may be in Iraq after the end of his presidency in three years time but he insisted there was no civil war.

Though Washington has long resisted setting a timetable for withdrawal, US officials have held out the prospect it would start soon and many of Mr Bush's Republican allies seemed keen to see progress before congressional elections in November.

Yet with Iraqi leaders and the US ambassador warning of the imminent risk of civil war, the 133,000 heavily armed US troops are seen by many as having a vital role in stemming violence.

Asked when US forces would finally pull out of Iraq, Mr Bush told a White House news conference: "That will be decided by future presidents and future governments of Iraq."

Mr Bush must step down when his term ends in January 2009. As he addressed Americans' concerns on Iraq three years after the US invasion, however, Iraqis voiced new complaints about alleged killings of civilians by US troops. The military announced a second investigation in the space of a few days into accusations soldiers shot women and children in their homes.

A US army dog handler was convicted of abusing Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison and faces more than eight years in jail.

The US-trained forces that Washington hopes will take on the bulk of security tasks, however, suffered one of their worst setbacks when suspected al Qaeda guerillas killed at least 22 people, mostly policemen, and freed over 30 prisoners from jail.

About 100 insurgents staged the dawn raid on two official buildings in Miqdadiya, northeast of Baghdad, officials said. Ten of the attackers were also killed, one source said.