Baghdad - Lebanese Sunni leader Saad Hariri met Iraqi Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Thursday during a rather calm
day in Iraq after a deadly explosion that took place north of the
capital the night before.
According to the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency, the Shiite
Iraqi leader congratulated Hariri on the formation of a government of
national unity in Beirut in which Sunnis and Shiites, including
members of the militant movements Hezbollah and Amal.
Hariri is the first Lebanese politician to visit Iraq since the US
invasion five years ago.
Both Iraq and Lebanon similarly face sectarian strife between
Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
Al-Maliki's government and the United States have increased
pressure on Arab heads of state and government to renew diplomatic
contacts with Iraq.
Thursday was somehow calm in Iraq after a deadly blast late
Wednesday in the northern province of Nineveh left at least 15 people
dead and 94 others wounded. Iraqi authorities said that a car- bomb
explosion had ripped though a residential area in Talafar district,
in Nineveh.
VOI reported that this was the third blast to hit the province,
while the first two left two people dead and 15 injured.
Earlier on Thursday, Iraqi and US forces arrested 16 suspected
al-Qaeda gunmen during a crackdown operations near Samara, a police
source said earlier on Thursday.
The source told VOI that a large amount of weapons and ammunitions
were seized during the operation, in the northern Salahaddin
province.
Meanwhile, the Iranian embassy in Baghdad Thursday denied US
military officials' accusations that Iran supports the special groups
in Iraq. The US military uses the term 'special groups' to describe
Shiite armed groups which it believes are trained and funded by Iran.
'Iran denies the news reported by US military officials regarding
Iran's support to the special group,' VOI quoted a statement by the
embassy.
The announcement termed the US accusations as 'lies and not
grounded in proof' and said that 'the US charges aimed at ruining
ties between the two countries (Iraq and Iran).'
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