GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colorado, Sept 14 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush on Tuesday downplayed deadly unrest in Iraq after a car bombing in Baghdad killed at least 47 people, saying elections set for January were still on track.
"Despite ongoing acts of violence, Iraq now has a strong prime minister, a National Council, and national elections are scheduled in January," he told cheering supporters in a campaign rally here ahead of the November 2 election.
Bush did not specifically comment on the devastating attack outside Baghdad's main police station, which left more than 100 wounded in the most lethal attack on Iraq's fledgling security services in two months.
Several hours later, 12 Iraqi policemen and their driver were killed when gunmen sprayed their vehicle with bullets in Baquba, north of Baghdad.
"Our mission in Afghanistan and Iraq is clear: We will help new leaders to train their armies, so that the citizens of Afghanistan and Iraq can defend themselves against the few who want to stop the hopes of the many," said Bush.
"We'll help them move towards elections, we'll get them on the path of stability and democracy as quickly as possible, and then our troops will return home with the honors they have earned," the president said.
The militant group of alleged Al-Qaeda operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility Tuesday for the two attacks, according to statements posted on an Islamist website.
"Free societies in the Middle East will be hopeful societies which no longer feed resentment and breed violence for export. Free governments in the Middle East will fight terrorists instead of harboring them," said Bush.
Bush's comments came during a campaign rally in a sun-drenched amphitheater here, which was twice interrupted by individual hecklers who were quickly surrounded and escorted out of the arena.
As the president launched into his first remarks on Iraq, a young man in one of the front rows, waving a small US flag, stood up and began shouting at Bush before he was subdued and removed from the venue.
As Bush made his comments about the violence in Iraq, an elderly bearded man in a green cardigan stood and unfurled a home-made sign critical of Bush before he, too, was pulled from his seat and escorted out, waving his hands in the traditional "V" hand sign of foes of the Vietnam War.