London, Nov 12: Prime Minister Tony Blair today said the US-led coalition faced ``tremendous difficulties'' in Iraq, but pledged to stick with the job of bringing democracy to the country. "Yes, there are tremendous difficulties,'' Blair told the house of commons. ``There are bound to be when we have terrorist groups and former members of Saddam's government who are prepared to kill any number of innocent people.'' He offered his condolences to the Italian government and people after a truck bomb exploded at the headquarters of the Italian Carabinieri police in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah.

At least 14 Italians and an unknown number of Iraqis died in the attack. Blair said they had been ``tragically murdered in the latest terrorist attack in southern Iraq.''
Since August, vehicle bombs have targeted several international buildings, including the United Nations Headquarters, the offices of the international Red Cross, the Baghdad hotel and the Turkish and Jordanian embassies in Baghdad.
Charles Kennedy, leader of the opposition liberal democrats, told lawmakers the administration of Iraq is ``clearly in a state of crisis.''

He pointed out that Iraq's top American administrator, L Paul Bremer, had been recalled to Washington for talks, that the red cross was scaling down its presence in Iraq and that attacks on allied troops had increased dramatically.
Bureau Report