The United States on Tuesday condemned the killing in Iraq of three Sunni Arab members of the committee drafting Iraq's new constitution.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that the killings showed that terrorists are seeking to derail the war-torn country's efforts to build a democracy.

"They are enemies of the Iraqi people and they will be defeated," McClellan said.

The remarks were made after reports from Baghdad said that gunmen shot and killed three Iraq constitution panelists as they left a Baghdad restaurant on Tuesday.

The assassinations occurred just hours after Iraqi President Jalal Talabani predicted the likely completion of the constitution ahead of schedule.

The charter is due to be finalized by Aug. 15 and put to a national referendum by Oct. 15, according to the Transitional Administrative Law, which stands as an interim constitution for the country.

Source: Xinhua