US Secretary of State Colin Powell has acknowledged the United States faces a serious problem with the insurgency in Iraq.
Powell: I think we underestimated the nature of the insurgency
With the deadline for the handover of sovereignty on June 30th just days away Mr Powell said: "I think we underestimated the nature of the insurgency that we might face in this period, and so the insurgency that we are looking at now, fuelled by old Saddam regime loyalists and terrorists, has become a serious problem for us."
His comments came after a day of violence in Iraq that left more than 100 people dead and 320 injured in five co-ordinated attacks
Speaking on BBC television's Newsnightprogramme, Mr Powell said attacks yesterday were carried out by insurgents seeking to torpedo the formal handover of sovereignty to an Iraqi interim government on June 30th. He hoped violence would suside after the handover.
"I'm absolutely sure that the world is a safer place with Saddam Hussein and that regime gone," he said.
"Now, does that mean that everything has become peaceful and nice? No. We have a difficult situation in Iraq. And we will deal with that difficult situation. We will get security under control."