Iraqi PM vows 'maximum force' as bombs kill 19

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to use "maximum force against terrorism" yesterday, as bombs killed at least 19 people in Baghdad during the first meeting of his national unity Cabinet.

In a reminder of the task Mr Maliki faces in stemming bloodshed and drawing angry, fearful Iraqis back from the brink of civil war, a suicide bomber killed at least 13 people and wounded 18 in a crowded restaurant popular with police.

A day after Parliament approved the Cabinet of Shi'ites, minority Sunnis and Kurds and its programme to combat violence and consolidate the US-sponsored transition to democracy, US President George W. Bush said the new government marked a "new day for the millions of Iraqis who want to live in freedom".

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it was too early to commit to sending home some of the 130,000 US troops and said top US military commanders will meet the Iraqi government over the coming weeks to discuss the roles of Iraqi and US forces.

"It is premature before we've even had this discussion with the Iraqi government to start giving firm commitments on what the drawdown will look like," Ms Rice told Fox television.

Mr Maliki said in the programme he read to Parliament he will work to complete rebuilding Iraq's US-trained armed forces so that foreign troops could leave within an "objective timetable".

Mr Bush, who is eager to show signs of progress in a war he launched three years ago to remove Saddam Hussein and is costing almost daily casualties to American troops, also said the new government marked a "new chapter" in Iraqi-US relations. He called Mr Maliki and other Iraqi leaders to congratulate them.