Dayton (US): President George W Bush has said that he saw signs of progress in Iraq despite an upswing of violence, but warned that security advances would be threatened by a quick drawdown of US troops.

Bush also praised Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's "bold decision" to launch an offensive against Shiite militia members in the southern port city of Basra.

Bush's speech came ahead of a key decision on whether or not to maintain the increased number of US troops in Iraq the "surge" of 30,000 US troops he ordered in January 2007 beyond July.

At least 105 people have died countrywide in clashes since Maliki ordered his troops to crack down on "lawless gangs" in Basra on Tuesday, according to official reports. Some sources have put the toll at double that.

The military operations have been mostly in areas controlled by the Mahdi Army fighters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, severely straining a "freeze" he ordered of the militia's activities last August.

Maliki's crackdown on Shiite militias in Iraq "shows his leadership and his commitment to enforce the law in an even-handed manner," Bush said yesterday.

"It also shows the progress the Iraqi security forces have made during the surge. Iraqi forces planned this operation and they deployed substantial extra forces for it. They re leading the operation."

It will "take some time" for Iraqi forces to crush Shiite militias, Bush said, but expressed confidence that they would ultimately prevail.

"This operation is going to take some time to complete," Bush said, adding that ultimately "terrorists and extremists in Iraq will know they have no place in a free and democratic society."

Source : PTI