The commander of U.S. troops in the Middle East has expressed concern about the performance of U.S.-trained Iraqi security forces.

General John Abizaid says the Iraqi forces are "not as mature as they need to be" to ensure security for the country's January 30 elections.

He expressed special concern about the city of Mosul, where he said foreign fighters and members of the banned Baathist party are cooperating in attacks on police.

The military has ordered another 12,000 U.S. troops to Iraq in a bid to increase security.

General Abizaid made his comments Monday to reporters from the Blooomberg news service and the Washington Post newspaper.

The Post quotes him as saying if the Iraqi forces improve, the United States can think about "reshaping" its own forces, which other officers say may lead to a lower U.S. troop level.

Some information for this story provided by Bloomberg.