In Iraq, Biden discusses security accord

Vice President-elect Joe Biden conferred with Iraqi leaders here Monday as police reported four bombings that killed 10 people.

Biden, a frequent visitor to Iraq as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met with President Jalal Talabani, Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi and Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih.

Abdul Mehdi said they discussed implementation of a security agreement that took effect Jan. 1. The accord sets a three-year time frame for full withdrawal of American forces.

The Iraqis also emphasized the importance of enhancing U.S.-Iraqi cooperation in fields other than security, the vice president said in a statement.

Biden renewed the U.S. commitment toward Iraq and stressed the need to continue developing state institutions, according to the statement.

Biden and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had dinner with the vice president-elect’s son, Beau, and other members of the Delaware National Guard serving in Iraq, Biden’s staff said.

Biden’s trip followed visits to Pakistan and Afghanistan over the weekend.

President-elect Barack Obama has promised to end the nearly 6-year-old war in Iraq and refocus U.S. military efforts on Afghanistan, where Al Qaeda-linked militants and the Taliban continue to fight.

But Obama has promised to consult his commanders and the Iraqi government before ordering withdrawals.

Monday’s spate of bombings largely targeted Iraqi security forces.

The attacks began when two vehicles parked about 50 yards apart exploded in quick succession as a police patrol passed in the New Baghdad neighborhood.

Police and hospital officials said four people were killed and nine others wounded. The dead included a policeman who died in the hospital.

The U.S. military gave a lower casualty toll, saying one Iraqi policeman was killed and two civilians were wounded.

In western Baghdad, a roadside bomb struck a military convoy with a truck carrying weapons in the mainly Sunni Muslim area of Yarmouk, killing three Iraqi soldiers and wounding four bystanders, police said.

Two other roadside bombs apparently aimed at Iraqi army and police patrols elsewhere in the capital killed three people and wounded six others, police said.