The top US commander in Iraq said on Friday the crisis of sectarian violence triggered by last week's bombing of a Shia shrine has passed but added the latest bloodshed would factor into his recommendation this spring on possible troop cuts.
Army General George Casey also refused to rule out the possibility of civil war in Iraq, a country gripped by sectarian and ethnic tensions, in a briefing to reporters at the Pentagon by teleconference from Camp Victory near Baghdad.
"Has there been violence and terrorism here in Iraq in the wake of the Samarra bombings? Clearly. Is the violence out of control? Clearly not. Now, it appears that the crisis has passed," Casey said.
Sectarian violence flared after the February 22 bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, one of Iraq's four holiest Shia shrines.
"But we all should be clear: Iraqis remain under threat of terrorist attack by those who will stop at nothing to undermine the formation of the constitutionally elected government, a government of national unity and a government that represents all Iraqis."