Baghdad  - An Iraqi parliament session on Wednesday to discuss a security pact between the United States and Iraq was adjourned for a day after lawmakers loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr disrupted the session, Dubai-based channel al-Arabiya reported.

The 275-member house should vote on the so-called Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) before November 24, according to the agreement signed by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker on Monday.

The agreement needs parliamentary approval before it can be signed into law by the US and Iraqi presidents.

Sadrists, loyal to the anti-US cleric al-Sadr, holds 30 seats in the parliament, and are the most vocal critics of the deal.

Baghdad - Iraq and Turkey agreed on Wednesday to set up a joint committee to combat Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq, Iraqi officials said.

Turkey has launched raids this year inside Iraqi territory to attack the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), which it calls a terrorist organization.

Turkey and Iraq would take "strong measures" to stop the PKK, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabagh said in a press statement, without giving details.

A US delegation also attended the meeting, according to the statement. The US has expressed concern that Turkish raids inside Iraq could further destabilize the country.

Baghdad - A senior United States official was on Wednesday quo

Baghdad - More than 5,000 Iraqis demonstrated in the Iraqi city of Hillah on Wednesday to support the security agreement between the United States and Iraq that would require US troops to withdraw from the country.

The deal sets the legal basis for the future presence of US troops in Iraq after a United Nations Security Council mandate expires at the end of the year.

Under the agreement, the deadline for the complete withdrawal of US troops is December 31, 2011. More than 140,000 US troops are currently stationed in Iraq.

Baghdad- Iraq has told Iran that its security pact with the United States would not threaten Iran's national sovereignty, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Tuesday.

"The security agreement has no articles that threaten the security of neighbouring countries," Zebari said in a statement following his meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Kazemi.

"Iraq will not be used as a base for attacks on neighbouring countries," Zebari added.

Baghdad - Iraq has told Iran that its security pact with the United States would not threaten Iran's national sovereignty, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Tuesday.

"The security agreement has no articles that threaten the security of neighbouring countries," Zebari said in a statement following his meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Kazemi.

"Iraq will not be used as a base for attacks on neighbouring countries," Zebari added.