Syria says foreign troops' withdrawal key to a stable Iraq

[ProSense]

Syria says foreign troops' withdrawal key to a stable Iraq

by Jay Deshmukh 27 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem called for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq, as the authorities announced that the suicide car bomber who killed 22 workers was a Syrian.

Muallem began his two-day visit to Iraq -- the first by a Damascus minister since the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003 -- by saying that a "stable Iraq was the base for security of Syria".

"A timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops will help stabilise Iraq, and Syria is keen to promote Iraq's security," Muallem told reporters after meeting his counterpart Hoshyar Zebari.

Muallem also urged Iraqis to retain the country's unity, saying Syria "will back the country's political process and is ready to offer all help required in maintaining the unity of Iraq".

Minutes before Muallem addressed reporters, Iraqi state television said it was a Syrian who killed 22 people Sunday when he blew himself up in a crowd of construction workers in the city of Hilla, south of the capital.

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53 killed in Iraq as Shiite minister kidnapped

by Ammar Karim 27 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (AFP) - At least 53 people died in attacks across Iraq, including a suicide car bombing that killed dozens, and gunmen kidnapped the deputy health minister from his home in a Sunni district of Baghdad.

The violence erupted as Foreign Minister Walid Muallem of neighbouring Syria began a landmark visit to Baghdad -- the first since the toppling of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in 2003.

A suicide car bomber posing as a contractor looking for workers blew himself up among a crowd of labourers in the mainly Shiite town of Hilla south of the capital, killing at least 22 people and wounding 44, police said.

"He came to the area asking for labourers and as these dozens of workers gathered around his car, he blew himself up," witness Haider Ali, 25, told AFP.

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