Baghdad ? The U.S. military reported the deaths of nine soldiers Monday – including seven killed in a vehicle accident not caused by hostile fire – and Iraq’s prime minister said the nation’s armed forces were not ready to fight without American help.

The statements – more Pentagon death notices and appeals for more time from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki – echoed some of the key struggles in Washington as lawmakers began long-awaited hearings on U.S. strategies in Iraq.

Among the core issues is whether Iraq’s leadership is moving fast enough at political reconciliation and assuming security responsibilities while U.S. troop deaths have risen to at least 3,772 in the 4 1/2-year war.

Al-Maliki told Iraq’s parliament that the American military is still needed despite what he described as a sharp drop in violence in the Baghdad area since President Bush ordered nearly 30,000 extra troops to Iraq this year.

“We still need more efforts and time in order for our armed forces to be able to take over security in all Iraqi provinces from the multinational forces that helped us a great deal in fighting terrorism and outlaws,” al-Maliki said.

Al-Maliki, a Shiite, said violence had dropped 75 percent in the Baghdad area since stepped-up military operations began in the capital Feb. 14 – although he offered no detailed figures. He also said his government had kept the country from descending into all-out Sunni-Shiite civil war after the wave of sectarian bloodletting last year.

A tally of civilian deaths compiled by The Associated Press showed a less dramatic drop in the Baghdad area – from 1,148 in February to 669 in August. The overall level of civilian deaths around the country, however, remained relatively steady during the period as violence shifted to other regions, according to the AP figures, based on government, police and hospital records.

In his address to parliament, al-Maliki said his Cabinet had finalized a draft bill to allow thousands of former Saddam Hussein supporters to serve in government posts – a major demand of the Sunnis and one of the 18 benchmarks demanded by Washington.

Sunni politicians acknowledged that Iraq’s security forces were not ready to defend the country on their own, but challenged al-Maliki’s statements that life was improving.

“Al-Maliki was talking about the illusion of improvement in the security situation,” Sunni lawmaker Mohammed al-Dayni. “This is just talk … All streets are blocked with concrete walls and barbed wires … You can see only few people in the streets. People are living a confused and abnormal life.”