WASHINGTON (AP) -- Despite continuing violence in Iraq, President Barack Obama says he thinks the bigger challenge there is finding political agreement among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.

Obama says the security situation in Iraq is actually showing improvement, and that the level of violence is not what it once was. A series of attacks this week has claimed more than 200 lives, just days before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraqi cities.

Obama says the violence will probably continue for "some time."

He told reporters Friday that he hasn't seen the kind of "political progress" that he'd like to see among Iraq's various factions. Obama says if their disputes are resolved, there will be a further improvement in reducing violence.