Washington: Iraq's security forces have made "uneven progress" and will be unable to take over security on their own in the next 12 to 18 months, according to an independent US assessment.

The study, conducted by a 20-member panel led by retired Gen James Jones, found the Iraqi Army shows promise of becoming a viable, independent security force with time. But the group offers a scathing assessment of Baghdad's Ministry of Interior and recommends scrapping Iraq's national police force, which it describes as dysfuntial and infiltrated by militias.

The review is one of several studies that Congress directed in May, when it agreed to fund the war for several more months but demanded the Bush administration and independent groups assess US progress in the four-year war. A copy of the first installment of the report, which includes some 150 pages, was obtained by The Associated Press.

Jones, a former commander of US troops in Europe and Marine Corps Commandant, is scheduled to testify before Congress tomorrow. Defence Secretary Robert Gates and other officials have already been briefed on the study, officials said last week.