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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Cheney arrives in Iraqi capital | Cheney arrives in Iraqi capital |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| US Vice-President Dick Cheney has arrived in Iraq's capital Baghdad, amid an ongoing drive by the US military to contain spiralling violence. | US Vice-President Dick Cheney has arrived in Iraq's capital Baghdad, amid an ongoing drive by the US military to contain spiralling violence. |
| After meeting US generals, Mr Cheney is expected to urge Iraqi leaders to work harder to heal political rifts. | |
| His trip follows an announcement that 35,000 more US troops may be sent to Iraq to maintain current levels. | |
| A truck bomb has meanwhile killed at least 19 people in Irbil, a city in Iraq's usually peaceful Kurdish region. | |
| Another 70 people were hurt in the explosion. | |
| Television pictures showed the blast had destroyed a building and left a large crater on a road where interior ministry offices are located. | Television pictures showed the blast had destroyed a building and left a large crater on a road where interior ministry offices are located. |
| A witness quoted by Reuters news agency spoke of "fire coming out from the blast area. A man was burned to death." | A witness quoted by Reuters news agency spoke of "fire coming out from the blast area. A man was burned to death." |
| A security official, First Lt Mariwan Kareem, told the agency the explosives in the truck had been hidden under kitchen cleaning products. The blast took place at 0800 local time. | |
| A policeman evacuates a casualty from the Irbil explosion | A policeman evacuates a casualty from the Irbil explosion |
| The near-daily bombings and instability that have gripped much of Iraq remain rare in the autonomous Kurdish northern region. | |
| However, political tensions are rising over the drafting of a bill that will redistribute oil wealth among the country's Kurdish, Sunni and Shia population. | |
| Most of Iraq's oil is concentrated around the Kurdish north and Shia south. | Most of Iraq's oil is concentrated around the Kurdish north and Shia south. |
| Irbil last saw a major attack in May 2005, when the offices of a local political party were hit by a suicide bomber. | Irbil last saw a major attack in May 2005, when the offices of a local political party were hit by a suicide bomber. |
| Summer vacation | |
| Upon arriving in Baghdad, Mr Cheney held talks with the US envoy to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, and the top commander of US forces in the country, Gen David Petraeus. | |
| "There's a lot going on. This is a very important time. There's a lot to talk about," he said. | |
| Mr Cheney is later scheduled to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, President Jalal Talabani and several members of the cabinet. | |
| Ambassador Crocker said the vice president would try to dissuade Iraqi politicians from taking a two-month vacation this summer. | |
| "For the Iraqi parliament to take a two-month vacation in summer is impossible to understand," he said, given the "major effort" being made by US and Iraqi security forces. | |
| Congressional battle | |
| Meanwhile, the Pentagon has told 35,000 US troops they may be required in Iraq this autumn. | |
| President Bush has already placed an extra 30,000 troops in Iraq as part of a push to contain soaring unrest. | |
| The latest Pentagon order would enable this push to be maintained until the end of the year, if neccessary. | |
| However, a defence department spokesman said no decision had yet been taken on prolonging the current surge. | |
| In Washington, the president's Republican party is battling Democratic rivals who want Congress to place checks on funding the war in Iraq. |