Washington: With efforts to secure release of three abducted Indians in Iraq still on, the US has said it cannot guarantee the safety of Indian and other South Asian workers against terrorists attack in the troubled nation.

"We can't promise protection to every worker that goes there. We all know that. That is the nature of the circumstances. It is a dangerous place. There are dangers and there are attacks on a variety of different targets in addition to coalition forces," US State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington yesterday (Aug 4, 2004).

His reply comes following a question about the workers from countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and others who are in Iraq though their countries are not part of the US-led coalition.

"There is a lot we can do generally to create a more secure environment working with the Iraqi Government. But no, we can't promise protection for every worker."

"Increasingly, (there are) attacks on Iraqis who are trying to reconstruct their country, and we cannot offer protection for every single Iraqi," he said.

At the same time, Boucher said, "We can do a lot to try to create a more secure environment, working with Iraqis, training them up, helping them provide security for their country the way they wish to, as well as the activities that we have against the groups that might be trying out attacks or the sources of the weapons or the infiltration or things like that."