US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Thursday that it will not be possible to hold elections in Iraq unless security conditions improve. Insurgents and terrorists, he said in an interview to The Washington Times, enjoy functional control of a number of Iraqi cities in the restive Sunni heartland and US and Iraqi government forces face constant attacks. He said the security situation would improve, and that the presidential campaign would not stop US and Iraqi government troops from acting forcefully. ‘‘We don’t expect the security situation as it exists now on the 16th of September to be the security situation on the day Iraqis vote,’’ Powell said. —(PTI)
