US President George W. Bush acknowledged problems with the post-war effort in Iraq on Wednesday (local time) as gunmen killed an Iraqi Oil Ministry official in Baghdad Thursday.

"One of the lessons we learned from our experience in Iraq is that, while military personnel can be rapidly deployed anywhere in the world, the same is not true of US Government civilians," Bush said in a speech to the International Republican Institute, which aims to promote "democracy" worldwide.

To remedy this Bush cited an initiative in his budget that would create a corps of trained civilians who could be deployed on short notice to help in crises caused by war or revolution.

Critics have faulted the Bush administration for failing to properly plan for the occupation of Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in 2003.

Meanwhile, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa expressed deep concerns yesterday over the deteriorating security situation in Iraq following the assassinations of religious scholars and Imams, Egypt's MENA news agency reported.

"The Arab League chief has urged all the Iraqi parties to exercise self-restraint and shoulder responsibility to avoid any attempt to stir sectarian sedition among the Iraqis," a spokesman for Moussa said.

Moussa condemned the assassination of religious figures, urging all the Iraqis to unite ranks "because it is the only way to maintain the unity and integrity of the country," the spokesman added.

In another development, gunmen killed an Iraqi oil ministry official in Baghdad yesterday, the latest assassination in escalating guerrilla violence. Ali Hameed was killed outside his home as he was leaving for work, a police official said.

North of Baghdad yesterday, police said a roadside bomb killed two policemen in the town of Baquba, and a police officer and his father were shot dead travelling in their car in Samarra.

In Baghdad, three gunmen killed a university professor near his house yesterday, police said.

Syria yesterday dismissed "baseless" US allegations that it had assisted Iraqi insurgents. An unnamed Syrian Government official told Reuters that the claim was "part of a political pressure campaign."

Source: China Daily