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Rice makes surprise visit to Iraq Rice reviews Iraq security plan
(about 4 hours later)
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in Iraq's capital, Baghdad, on a brief unannounced visit at the start of a six-day Mid-East tour. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said Iraq's leaders are "off to a good start" with a new security plan intended to cut violence.
It comes as US and Iraqi forces pursue a major security operation there. On an unannounced visit to the capital, Baghdad, she said she was "very impressed" with Prime Minister Nuri Maliki's leadership.
Earlier, at least 10 people were killed by two car bombs in the centre of the northern city of Kirkuk. Earlier, two car bombs in Kirkuk killed at least 10 people and injured 68.
At least 68 people were injured in the attack, police said. The blast also destroyed shops at the market, situated in a mainly Kurdish area of the city. The blast also destroyed shops at the market, situated in a mainly Kurdish area of the city.
Kirkuk is a centre of oil production and ethnically mixed, with tensions running high between different groups. Kirkuk, 290km (180 miles) north of Baghdad, is a centre of oil production and ethnically mixed, with tensions running high between different groups.
Ms Rice is expected to meet senior US and Iraqi officials to discuss the progress of the new security plan. 'New phase'
The success of the new crackdown will be measured largely on how well the US-backed Iraqi government capitalises on any respite of sectarian violence, the Associated Press news agency quotes her as saying. Violence in Baghdad itself has reduced by 80% since the new security operation began three days ago, said an Iraqi military spokesman Brigadier Qasim al-Mousawi.
In Baghdad, the new security measures have coincided with a significant dip in attacks. Rice praised Maliki's efforts
"The morgue was receiving 40 to 50 bodies per day before and now has received only 20 in the last 48 hours," he said.
He added that illegal checkpoints had been dismantled and 330 displaced families had been able to return to their homes.
This is rare good news for the US administration which is facing opposition at home to its strategy of sending more troops to Iraq, says the BBC's Jane Peel in Baghdad.This is rare good news for the US administration which is facing opposition at home to its strategy of sending more troops to Iraq, says the BBC's Jane Peel in Baghdad.
However a senior US military commander has warned that the extremists are probably lying low and are likely to be back.
The US secretary of state held talks with Mr Maliki and other senior Iraqi leaders, and said it was important for the Iraqi security forces to consolidate on the lull in the violence.
"We have been reviewing the prospects for the Baghdad Security Plan," said Ms Rice, after the meeting. "This can be a new phase for the people of Iraq."
She said the US was also looking at ways to help Iraq and neighbouring countries cope with the large numbers of refugees escaping the violence:
"I have talked to the prime minister about the importance of making certain that people who are refugees can find shelter," she said.
"But ultimately we hope that a stable Iraq will be a place to which all Iraqis can return."