Two U.S. military leaders said on Thursday that escalating sectarian violence in Iraq could lead the country into civil war.

"I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I' ve seen it, in Baghdad in particular," General John Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command, testified at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

If the violence was not stopped, he warned, "it is possible that Iraq could move toward civil war."

Abizaid's concern was echoed by General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who told the panel, "We do have the possibility of that devolving into civil war."

Pace added that a civil war in Iraq need not happen. "But that does not have to be a fact," he said.

Peace in Iraq, he said, would ultimately depend on the Iraqis more than on the U.S. military.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who also testified before the committee, did not comment directly on the prospect of civil war. He reiterated his position that a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq must be based on the judgment of ground commanders.

American troops must not be withdrawn "prematurely" and the enemy wanted to see U.S. public opinion divided, he said.

Asked about the prospects for reducing U.S. troops in Iraq by the end of the year, Abizaid said it was possible.

"It's possible, depending on how things go in Baghdad and how ( Iraqi) Prime Minister Maliki and his government grab a hold of the security situation," he said.

Source: Xinhua