SYDNEY - An early withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq would have disastrous consequences and give victory to "terrorists", Australian Prime Minister John Howard has warned.

Australian soldiers secure an area in the Iraqi southern city of Samawa. An early withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq would have disastrous consequences and give victory to "terrorists", Australian Prime Minister John Howard has warned. [AFP]

Howard has come under increasing opposition pressure to announce a timetable for pulling out Australian troops after Britain this week flagged plans to hand over control of Basra to Iraqi forces early next year.

"After everything that has happened, for there to be a precipitate coalition withdrawal would be the worst of all worlds," Howard said in a commercial radio interview.

"Because nothing will have been achieved, the effort will have been in vain and the terrorists will win and that will have great and very damaging consequences for all of us."

Speaking the day after 152 people were killed in the worst bombings in Baghdad since the war to oust Saddam Hussein, Howard acknowledged Iraq was "going through a very bad phase".

But, he said, he still believed he made the right decision when he deployed Australian troops in the US-led invasion, even though no weapons of mass destruction were found.

"Everybody back in 2003, including (opposition Labor Party leader) Kim Beazley ... and even (French President) Jacques Chirac, were all saying Iraq had weapons of mass destruction," he said.

"I do not retreat in any way from the decision that was taken. For us now to precipitately withdraw - and if we do it, why shouldn't the American and British do it - would have enormous and damaging consequences."

The path ahead lay in a greater assumption of responsibility by the Iraqi military forces, he said.

"In the long-run no country wants foreigners to remain on its soil indefinitely. Therefore the more the Iraqi military forces can be developed the better prospects there are for a longer term solution," he said.

Australia has about 1,400 troops involved in Iraqi operations, mostly helping train local forces in the safer southern areas.