Rice makes surprise visit to Iraq
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in Irbil in the Kurdish north of Iraq on an unpublicised visit.
The US embassy said she would meet Iraqi government leaders and US military commanders.
[KUMAR COMMENT] : The rest of the news item has nothing to do with Condi's visit.
Meanwhile four people died in two bombs in Baquba, though the apparent target, the regional governor, escaped. Two officials were killed in Baghdad.
The attacks came as US forces claimed success in an operation to clear parts of north-west Iraq of insurgents.
In Baquba, a suicide car bomber pulled in front of Diyala province governor Raed Rashid's convoy and exploded his charge, the Reuters agency said, citing police.
No-one was hurt in the blast, but an apparently co-ordinated second attack went off nearby, killing four people and injuring at least 15, police said.
Major assault
In Baghdad, gunmen opened fire on a senior industry ministry official as he travelled through the Gazaliya district, killing him and his driver.
On Saturday, a foreign ministry official was killed in Baghdad while about 10 others died in suicide bombings in Kirkuk and Mosul.
More than 400 people have been killed in militant attacks since Iraq's democratically elected government was announced at the end of April.
But the US said it had made progress in its week-long Operation Matador.
The Americans said they had killed more than 125 rebels for the loss of nine of their own men, with 40 wounded.
The campaign, involving air strikes and at least 1,000 ground troops, took place close to the border with Syria.
It was the largest campaign against insurgents since the US-led assault on Falluja in November.
Reports from the area said US troops began pulling out almost exactly a week after the campaign began, and that they had dismantled a pontoon bridge they built across the Euphrates during the operation.
The US said the operation had achieved its goals of eliminating insurgents, and denying a sanctuary and a route for fighters and materials involved in attacks deep inside Iraq.
They said they would continue to monitor the area and would be back.
Story from BBC NEWS:
news.bbc.co.uk
Published: 2005/05/15 07:28:31 GMT
© BBC MMV |
