The Iraqi military says it is delaying its pullout from the country's cities.
The Iraqi military was scheduled to hand over security duties to Iraqi police by the end of the year.
But the spokesman for the Baghdad military operations command, Qasim al-Musawi, said the military is worried that the police will not be able to handle security in all areas of the country.
Musawi said there were concerns that if the Iraqi Army pulled out of the cities, violence would return.
Analysts say there is the added worry that violence will increase when U.S. troops complete their own withdrawal from the country at year's end.
Iraq's leaders have said they would like to have U.S. military training help, but negotiations between the two sides are bogged down over what type of legal protection to give any U.S. troops who remain behind.
compiled from agency reports