Bush rejects delay in Iraqi power transfer

In a combative weekly radio address despite mounting unrest in Iraq, Bush again vowed to confront "every challenge" to US efforts to establish a new government in the country.

"A small faction is attempting to derail Iraqi democracy and seize power," Bush said of the insurrection by Sunni and Shia fighters in cities across the country.

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"Some have suggested that we should respond to the recent attacks by delaying Iraqi sovereignty, declared Bush.

"This is precisely what our enemies want. They want to dictate the course of events in Iraq and to prevent the Iraqi people from having a true voice in their future.

"They want America and our coalition to falter in our commitments before a watching world. In these ambitions, the enemies of freedom will fail. Iraqi sovereignty will arrive on June 30."

US officials have given few details on what the new Iraqi government will look like. This and the heightened violence has led to calls to review the proposed transfer. Even senior Republicans, such as Senator Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has said there should be a "debate" on the date.

Meanwhile, the alleged mastermind of al-Qaeda operations in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, could strike at Shia pilgrims flocking to the holy city of Karbala for a major festival, the US-led coalition warned yesterday.

"The sorts of events that will be occurring in this country over the next few days with 'Arbaeen" are, could be, a key target for Mr. Zarqawi given his antics and strategy in the past," coalition spokesman Dan Senor told reporters. "I just want to put a spotlight on this."