By Prensa Latina,
Baghdad : Two bomb attacks were carried out hour after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said developments would determine the presence of foreign troops in the country.
According to security sources, a police officer was killed and four bodyguards were wounded on Monday night, when a bomb exploded in Kirkuk, some 155 miles north of Baghdad.
Local media reported other violent incidents in southern Iraq, although they did not elaborate on the official number of deaths.
The events took place during a visit by US Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, who met with the head of Government and other Iraqi officials.
“In a situation where things are as dynamic as they are in Iraq, I would just tell you, it”s usually best to look at these things based on conditions on the ground,” Al-Maliki said.
A communiqué issued by the prime minister”s office recalled that Al-Maliki and US President George W. Bush signed a declaration of principles on the troops” pullout in Washington in December 2007.
The document says the US troops will remain in Iraq until after 2008, but in recent talks in Washington, the two countries set a “timeline” for the withdrawal.
Obama favors a complete pullout of the US forces in 16 months if he wins the elections, an issue that he discussed with Al-Maliki, although official sources refused to confirm that information.