US 'plotting to oust Al Maliki'

Baghdad: Top US officials are studying a raft of strategies to oust Nouri Al Maliki as the Iraqi Prime Minister following his tough stand in demanding a complete US troop pullout by 2011, according to a secret political report by the Kurdish Party.

According to US plans, current vice-president Adel Abdul Mahdi could be considered to replace Al Maliki. Other steps under consideration include piling pressure on him to resign or even a covert assassination attempt.

The report, details of which were obtained by Gulf News, says that US officials also suspect that Al Maliki is coordinating with Iran to launch a military offensive against Iraqi militia in return for Tehran's help in driving out US troops from Iraq.