Saturday, February 17, 2007
Rice lauds early progress in Baghdad
Politics, Security
(Reuters) U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Saturday lauded early progress in a military operation against militants in Baghdad, but said Iraqis had to use this "breathing space" to push ahead with reconciliation. Rice made an unannounced visit to Baghdad as U.S. and Iraqi troops make initial gains in an offensive seen as a final push to end sectarian bloodshed that threatens to tear Iraq apart.
While major car bombings and death squad killings in Baghdad have declined, a double car bombing on Saturday at a crowded market in the northern city of Kirkuk killed at least 10 people and wounded 60, police sources said. The explosions took place in the Rahim Awa district, a predominantly Kurdish area of the ethnically mixed city.
Rice said Iraq's leaders needed to speed up efforts to reconcile warring Shi'ite and Sunni groups, finalize an oil revenue sharing law and hold provincial elections. Rice said she would press those issues when she met Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi. "The wait for progress can't be endless. Those (issues) need to move along more quickly," said Rice, who last month said the Iraqi government was on "borrowed time. This is a group of leaders that need to deliver."
While major car bombings and death squad killings in Baghdad have declined, a double car bombing on Saturday at a crowded market in the northern city of Kirkuk killed at least 10 people and wounded 60, police sources said. The explosions took place in the Rahim Awa district, a predominantly Kurdish area of the ethnically mixed city.
Rice said Iraq's leaders needed to speed up efforts to reconcile warring Shi'ite and Sunni groups, finalize an oil revenue sharing law and hold provincial elections. Rice said she would press those issues when she met Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi. "The wait for progress can't be endless. Those (issues) need to move along more quickly," said Rice, who last month said the Iraqi government was on "borrowed time. This is a group of leaders that need to deliver."
Labels: al-Maliki, Baghdad, car bombs, Condoleezza Rice, Kirkuk, Talabani
