Obama presses Iraqi leaders to end deadlock

Iraqi parties have been unable to agree on a governing coalition since a March election that produced no clear winner. Prolonged uncertainty could expose Iraq to a risky power vacuum as it struggles to contain a stubborn insurgency.

Obama met U.S. Iraq ambassador Chris Hill and top commander General Ray Odierno to discuss Iraq's political future and progress on efforts to reduce U.S. troop levels to 50,000 and end their combat role in the country by the end of August.

"The president shared his view that it is time for Iraq's leaders to exercise their constitutional responsibilities and form a government without delay," the White House said.

Vice President Joe Biden, who visited Baghdad earlier this month, reinforced that message in phone calls on Thursday to incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and former premier Iyad Allawi, the top vote-getter in the March 7 ballot.

Some Sunni politicians in Iraq have accused the United States of not doing enough to support the right of Allawi's cross-sectarian Iraqiya bloc to form the government.

They also suspect neighbouring Iran wants a Shi'ite-led government that would continue to sideline the minority Sunnis who dominated Iraq before the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein.

Odierno told Obama the military was ahead of schedule in executing the drawdown to 50,000 troops by the August deadline. There are now about 80,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Continuing violence has raised questions about U.S. troop reductions and the ability of Iraqi police and soldiers to maintain security.

A rocket attack on Baghdad's international Green Zone on Thursday killed two Ugandans and a Peruvian working for a security contractor hired to protect U.S. facilities in Iraq, the U.S. Embassy said.

Obama expressed regret for the casualties, but the White House said he welcomed Odierno's report that "security incidents across Iraq remain at the lowest level since the U.S. has kept records."

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Peter Cooney)