The United States and Iran have set a date for ambassador-level talks in Baghdad on the deteriorating security situation in Iraq the first such meeting since late May, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Sunday.
The safety of Iraq's pre-eminent Shiite cleric is in question after one of his close aides was stabbed to death in the Muslim leader's compound in the holy city of Najaf, a place beset by unsolved murders and believed to be infiltrated by insurgents.
Be careful what you say and whom you help -- especially when it comes to the Iraq war and the Iraqi government.
In a move that could portend a strategy change, the commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq said Sunday he has proposed reducing his troop levels and shifting next year to missions focused less on direct combat.
BAGHDAD, July 22 -- The United States and Iran will hold a second round of direct talks to discuss Iraq's worsening security situation as early as Tuesday, even as U.S. military commanders continue to accuse Iranian operatives of fomenting the instability.
Senate Democrats vowed Sunday to press ahead with legislation on pulling US troops from Iraq, despite a major defeat last week in their efforts to pass a bill.
The US military on Sunday said its troops had found Chinese-made missiles which they believe were smuggled into Iraq by groups in Iran in order to arm groups fighting US-led forces.
As of Sunday, July 22, 2007, at least 3,632 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 2,977 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
The U.S. and Iranian ambassadors to Iraq will meet this week to discuss security issues in the war-torn country, a senior Bush administration official said Sunday.
Envoys of the United States and Iran will hold a second round of talks in Baghdad on Tuesday on the security situation in Iraq, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said.