Iraq 'can deal with insurgency'

Mr Rubaie said Iraqi security forces had reached a critical mass

Iraq's National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie says Iraq's security forces are close to being able to deal with the insurgency.

Mr Rubaie told the BBC that Iraq's army and police were getting the necessary equipment and training.

He said that within the next two years they would be able to cope without the help of international forces.

His comments follow a series of suicide bombings and attacks on Thursday which left more than 120 people dead.

"These [attackers] are Osama Bin Laden's and [Abu Musab] al-Zarqawi's people," Mr Rubaie told the BBC's World Today programme.

I believe more of the foreign troops are going to withdraw from Iraq and we are not going to need them in a year or two Mowaffaq al-Rubaie

"They are after the spectacular attacks and trying to make the maximum psychological impact."

But he said: "I think we have managed to incorporate or include most of the former regime elements in the political process."

He went on to say that the Iraqi security forces had reached a critical mass and would soon be able to deal with the insurgents. He said army, police and border guards now numbered approximately 250,000.

"They have reached a very good level in terms of their training and equipment and their readiness to combat terrorism," Mr Rubaie said.

"So I believe more of the foreign troops are going to withdraw from Iraq and we are not going to need them in a year or two."

Army Day

Mr Rubaie's comments came as the Iraqi army celebrated its founding 85 years ago.

Iraq's soldiers have been a frequent target of insurgent attacks

The celebration narrowly missed being disrupted by a rocket attack.

The BBC's defence and security correspondent, Rob Watson, says there is certainly no shortage of new recruits - the lack of jobs and the lure of more than $300 a month pay has seen to that.

But a senior US commander, Lt Gen John Vines, has warned the Iraqi government to improve pay and better supply its security forces or see them turn into militias and armed gangs.

The recruiting has also been uneven, with many Sunni Arabs still reluctant to enlist.