Washington - The man regarded as second-in-command of terrorist group al-Qaeda condemned US president-elect Barack Obama Wednesday in the group's first audio message since his election, using racial slurs and calling his victory an "admission of defeat" in Iraq.
Ayman al-Zawahiri said Obama was "the direct opposite of honourable black Americans" like Malcolm X, a controversial figure who preached violence during the US civil rights movement in the 1960s.
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.
Basra (Iraq), Nov. 19 : Two Iraqis – Faisal Al-Saadoon, 56, and Khalaf Mufdhi, 58, who have been accused of murdering two captive British soldiers -- Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth and Sapper Luke Allsopp – have approached a High Court with a plea to provide them with sanctuary.
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.
Stockholm - Swedish heavy-vehicle maker Scania Wednesday said it has inked a deal to assemble trucks and buses with the government of Iraq.
The deal was announced in connection with a visit to Iraq by Swedish Trade Minister Ewa Bjorling and a delegation of Swedish businesses, including Scania and telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson.
According to Scania, production was due to begin during the third-quarter 2009.
Some 500 trucks were to be assembled at the plant in Iskandariyah, near Baghdad that was to employ 500 people.
Baghdad - Iraq and Turkey agreed on Wednesday to set up a joint committee to combat Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq, Iraqi officials said.
Baghdad - A senior United States official was on Wednesday quo
Basra (Iraq), Nov. 19 : Two Iraqis – Faisal Al-Saadoon, 56, and Khalaf Mufdhi, 58, who have been accused of murdering two captive British soldiers -- Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth and Sapper Luke Allsopp – have approached a High Court with a plea to provide them with sanctuary.
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.
Stockholm - Swedish heavy-vehicle maker Scania Wednesday said it has inked a deal to assemble trucks and buses with the government of Iraq.
