Iraq's PM Rejects Timetable for Troop Withdrawal

Iraq's Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has dismissed calls for setting a timetable to withdraw foreign troops, amid ongoing violence

Speaking to the National Assembly Tuesday, Mr. al-Jaafari said U.S.- led coalition forces will stay until Iraq is ready to defend itself.

Earlier, the Iraqi leader met U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick in Baghdad for economic and security talks.

Meantime, gunmen in Baghdad shot and killed a police colonel.

In the northern city of Kirkuk, a car bomb killed three people and injured 15 others, and a separate blast in Tal Afar killed one civilian and injured nine others.

Monday, Sunni leaders accused Iraqi police of abuse in the deaths of 10 men detained earlier this month. They say the men were exposed to intense desert heat while in custody.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.