Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, said on Thursday that the completion of successful elections in Iraq was unlikely to lead to a decrease in violence.

Mr Rumsfeld said he doubted that the election would change the minds of extremists who have been mounting the insurgency against the US-led coalition forces since last year. “I expect that level of violence and insurgency to continue,” Mr Rumsfeld, who last year described the insurgents as a few “dead-enders”, said at a press briefing.