IRAQ: US urges Iraqi leaders to "step up"

The United States urged Iraqi leaders on Tuesday (October 24) to work harder to achieve key political and security goals, amid mounting pressure on U.S. President George W. Bush to change his policy. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told a news conference in Baghdad that success in Iraq was still possible and could be achieved in a "realistic timetable." "Iraqi leaders must step up to achieve key political and security milestones on which they have agreed," he said. Khalilzad said there would be occasional setbacks but the central goal of creating a multi-ethnic and multi-sectarian Iraq remained unchanged. One civilian was killed and another seven wounded when a bomb planted inside a refreshment shop exploded in al-Sadriya district of Baghdad. Iraq has been gripped by sectarian bloodletting since the bombing of a revered Shi'ite shrine in February. The United Nations estimates 100 Iraqis die every day in violence that Iraqi and U.S. officials fear could descend into civil war. Speaking at the same news conference, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General George Casey, accused Iran and Syria of providing support to armed groups in Iraq, a move he described as "decidedly unhelpful". October is already the deadliest month this year for U.S. troops in Iraq, with at least 86 killed, boosting domestic pressure on Bush before congressional elections in two weeks. In Baghdad's Karrada neighbourhood, Iraqi Shi'ites gathered for Eid al-Fitr prayers while U.S. military forces searched the area for a missing soldier. U.S. forces were backed by armoured vehicles and helicopters as they searched for the soldier, a translator, who may have been abducted. Under heavy security, prayers marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan were led by the Head of Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. In his speech al-Hakim, expressed his full support for the new Iraqi federal system recently approved by the Iraqi Parliament. "In this great month, the holy month of Ramadan, many important things have been achieved to the present and future of Iraq. One of the main things was approving a federal system in Iraq, a system that we fought for a lot of years to achieve it because we believe that this system is a guarantee to achieve justice and balance in Iraq," al-Hakim said. Eid al-Fitr is one of the two most important Islamic celebrations during which people dress in their finest clothes, adorn their homes with lights and decorations and treats are given to children.

ITN Source | October 24, 2006

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