Baghdad - The Iraqi cabinet began an emergency meeting Sunday to review the final version of a security pact with the United States, al-Arabiya network reported. The pact, known as the Status of Forces Agreement, would establish a legal basis for the presence of US soldiers in Iraq after a United Nations mandate expires at end of this year.
The draft agreement includes 31 articles and calls for US troops to pull out of Iraqi cities by June 2009 and from the entire country by the end of 2011.
Iraqi officials close to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki indicated that there was a good chance that the 37-member cabinet would ratify the draft now that the US has agreed on key amendments made by Iraq.
Iraqi Transport Minister Amir Abdul-Jabbar said on Saturday it was highly likely that the cabinet would ratify the final draft of the agreement.
If adopted by the cabinet, the pact would then require parliamentary approval.
The US last week responded to Iraqi demands for changes in the text. US officials described it as final and said it was up to the Iraqis to push the process forward.
Tarik al-Hashemi, the Sunni vice president, however said Saturday that the US made "additional modifications" to the agreement in response to a request by al-Maliki.
According to press reports, Iraq had demanded the removal of any language from the text that might allow US troops to remain in Iraqi cities after December 31, 2011.
Baghdad also specified that US military personnel had to be held accountable for crimes they committed off duty as well as having to request permission from the Iraqi government to search homes.
It also demanded assurances that the United States would not use Iraqi territory to attack neighbouring countries like Iran or Syria.
The most vocal opposition to the pact comes from fiery anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has called on his supporters to hold demonstrations and reiterated calls for the US to "get out of our beloved Iraq."
Tens of thousands of his supporters demonstrated in Baghdad in October against the draft security deal.
Meanwhile, violence continued in Iraq. A bomb went off in north- eastern Baghdad on Sunday killing three people and wounding seven, police said.
