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| Iran to host Iraq security talks | |
| (29 minutes later) | |
| Iraq's President Jalal Talabani has accepted an invitation from his Iranian counterpart to discuss ways of tackling the raging violence in Iraq. | |
| Mr Talabani will meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran on Saturday. Unconfirmed reports say Syria's President Bashar al-Assad may attend. | |
| The US has given a guarded welcome to the prospect of the talks in Tehran. | The US has given a guarded welcome to the prospect of the talks in Tehran. |
| But the state department said previous Iranian commitments to help reduce violence in Iraq had not been acted on. | But the state department said previous Iranian commitments to help reduce violence in Iraq had not been acted on. |
| Analysts say Iran's diplomatic push could be designed to upstage US efforts to force it and Syria to do more to help stabilise the situation in Iraq. | Analysts say Iran's diplomatic push could be designed to upstage US efforts to force it and Syria to do more to help stabilise the situation in Iraq. |
| The announcement of talks comes during a landmark visit to Iraq by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallim - the highest-ranking Syrian official to visit Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. | The announcement of talks comes during a landmark visit to Iraq by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallim - the highest-ranking Syrian official to visit Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. |
| Partners | Partners |
| Prime Minister Nouri Maliki told Mr Muallim he was not prepared to let Iraq get caught up in Syria's differences with the US. | Prime Minister Nouri Maliki told Mr Muallim he was not prepared to let Iraq get caught up in Syria's differences with the US. |
| "[Syria] should settle these differences, but not at our cost," Mr Maliki said at a joint news conference. | "[Syria] should settle these differences, but not at our cost," Mr Maliki said at a joint news conference. |
| Mr Muallim said Syria wanted to be a partner with Iraq to increase security and political co-operation. | Mr Muallim said Syria wanted to be a partner with Iraq to increase security and political co-operation. |
| The US regularly accuses Syria of not doing enough to prevent anti-US insurgents from crossing its border with Iraq to smuggle arms and fighters. | The US regularly accuses Syria of not doing enough to prevent anti-US insurgents from crossing its border with Iraq to smuggle arms and fighters. |
| On Sunday, Mr Muallim called for the unity of Iraq to be preserved, and for a timetable for foreign troops to leave. | On Sunday, Mr Muallim called for the unity of Iraq to be preserved, and for a timetable for foreign troops to leave. |
| Officials attacked | Officials attacked |
| Monday saw gunmen attacked the convoy of an Iraqi Deputy Health Minister, Hakim Zamili, a day after an ambush in which another deputy health minister was kidnapped. | |
| "We as health ministry officials have become a target," said Mr Zamili. Two of his bodyguards were killed in the attack, in Baghdad's central al-Fadil district. | "We as health ministry officials have become a target," said Mr Zamili. Two of his bodyguards were killed in the attack, in Baghdad's central al-Fadil district. |
| Reports said more than 100 people had been killed in Iraq the last 24 hours, piling pressure on the government to solve the spiral of sectarian violence. | Reports said more than 100 people had been killed in Iraq the last 24 hours, piling pressure on the government to solve the spiral of sectarian violence. |
| On Sunday, Ammar al-Saffar, who holds the same rank as Mr Zamili, was kidnapped on Sunday from his home in Baghdad's Sunni district of Adhamiya. | On Sunday, Ammar al-Saffar, who holds the same rank as Mr Zamili, was kidnapped on Sunday from his home in Baghdad's Sunni district of Adhamiya. |
| The health ministry is headed by a group loyal to the Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr, whose Mehdi Army militia is accused of involvement in sectarian attacks by Iraq's Sunni Muslim community. | The health ministry is headed by a group loyal to the Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr, whose Mehdi Army militia is accused of involvement in sectarian attacks by Iraq's Sunni Muslim community. |
| Meanwhile, the American military says two members of its forces have been killed - one in Anbar province, in western Iraq, and one in a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad. | Meanwhile, the American military says two members of its forces have been killed - one in Anbar province, in western Iraq, and one in a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad. |