IRAQ: Iraq is hosting a two-day security conference aimed at combatting "terrorism"
Record ID:
872644
IRAQ: Iraq is hosting a two-day security conference aimed at combatting "terrorism"
- Title: IRAQ: Iraq is hosting a two-day security conference aimed at combatting "terrorism"
- Date: 12th March 2014
- Summary: BLOODSTAINS ON GROUND
- Embargoed: 27th March 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Iraq
- City:
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA9N052QA594TCVL7U2H3C8AX7Y
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: A two-day international security conference opened in Baghdad on Wednesday (March 12).
Led by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the conference aims to tackle the ongoing wave of violence that has hit the country since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Among those in attendance are foreign undersecretaries from various countries, and the head of Interpol.
Security in Iraq has been shaken by a year of constant bombings and other attacks that left nearly 8000 civilians dead in 2013, the worst period for the country since 2008.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has been behind many of the bombings. The Iraqi government is currently battling the group in the western province of Anbar, where the group holds territory in the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.
On Saturday (March 8), four people were killed when a car bomb went off near a popular market in northern Baghdad.
On Sunday (March 9), at least 32 people were killed when a suicide bomber drove a minibus packed with explosives killed in the southern Iraqi city of Hilla.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the bombing, but suicide bombings are a trademark of al Qaeda- affiliated groups. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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