Iraq ? Iraq’s prime minister said Monday he believes the U.S. will withdraw its troops more quickly than the three-year timeline set down in a U.S.-Iraq security agreement. The U.S., meanwhile, suffered its biggest single loss of life in months when two helicopters crashed, killing four service members.

An agreement negotiated under former President George W. Bush’s administration called for U.S. combat troops to withdraw from Baghdad and other cities by the end of June, with all American forces out of the country by the end of 2011.

President Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to remove all combat troops within 16 months and has asked the Pentagon to plan for “a responsible military drawdown from Iraq.”