Iran Offers Security Help to Visiting Iraqi Prime Minister
12 September 2006
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he has offered to help Iraq establish security and stability and bring its insurgency under control.
Speaking at a joint news conference in Tehran with visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at his side, Mr. Ahmadinejad said improved security in Iraq will enhance stability and security throughout the region.
Mr. Maliki met with the Iranian president Tuesday at the beginning of his two-day official visit. He is expected to hold further talks with other senior Iranian leaders.
U.S. officials have repeatedly said Iran is not doing enough to stop the flow of militants entering Iraq.
In Baghdad, meanwhile, Iraqi police say at least five people were killed and more than a dozen others wounded by a car bomb that exploded in the city's upscale Mansour district today.
A court in Baghdad is hearing Kurdish witnesses in the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and six co-defendants who are accused of ordering the death of tens of thousands of Iraqi Kurds during the 1980s.
In court today, Saddam repeated his contention that the military offensive, known as the Anfal campaign, was aimed at Kurdish guerrillas who had previously fought with Iran and against Iraq.
Before the judge switched off his microphone, Saddam shouted, "Is there any country in the world where authorities do not deploy the army to defeat an insurgency?"
One Kurdish villager testified that Iraqi planes provided cover while ground troops pounded on Kurdish communities in February 1988. Prosecutors say the offensive killed 180,000 civilians.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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