Three bombs killed at least 62 people in Baghdad and Kirkuk before Maliki met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London and prepared for later talks with American President George W. Bush.

Attributing the violence to sectarian conflicts, Maliki said he expected local police forces to strengthen by the end of the year to allow for foreign forces to eventually pull out of the region. The prime minister said that the government agreed to confront and disarm ethnic militias.

However, the main faction from the Sunni Arab minority, which has defied the Shi’ites and the U.S. occupation for the past three years, boycotted the Reconciliation Commission meeting described by Maliki as the “last chance for peace.” The Sunni faction accuses the Shi’ite militia death squads of targeting them.

U.S. troops fought the Shi’ite Mehdi Army of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr over the weekend, killing 14 militants and arresting eight for suspected “death squad” participation.