London, March 19 (DPA) Four years after the invasion of Iraq, the US-led coalition there has seen a marked decline in the confidence of Iraqis about a better future, a poll published Monday showed.

Only 18 percent of Iraqis have confidence in US and coalition troops, but just a third want the forces to leave immediately.

About 51 percent believe that attacks on coalition forces are "justified."

Some 86 percent of those questioned expressed concern about someone in their household being a victim of violence, the survey showed.

More than 2,000 people were polled for the study, which was commissioned by the BBC, ABC News, ARD and USA Today.

Asked whether they believed reconstruction efforts in Iraq had been effective, about 67 percent said they felt they had not.

The BBC said the latest findings contrast strongly with the outlook among Iraqis in November 2005, when respondents to a similar survey were generally hopeful about the future.