IRAQ: Iraqi prime minister Nuri al- Maliki said yesterday he was sending envoys to neighbouring countries to seek help in improving security in Iraq and would call for a conference of regional states on the issue.
Mr Maliki made his announcement hours after gunmen and bombers killed 30 people in Baghdad, including 14 Shia religious employees who were ambushed on a highway north of the capital.
"We will send envoys to neighbouring countries to encourage the governments of those countries to reinforce security and stability," Mr Maliki told a televised news conference in Baghdad.
Mr Maliki, under pressure from his Washington backers to rein in soaring sectarian violence that is pushing Iraq to the brink of all-out civil war, also said Iraqi political leaders would meet in mid-December to try to reconcile rival communities.
The civilian employees for the Shia Endowment, a foundation that oversees religious sites and mosques, were killed when their bus was ambushed in northern Baghdad, said Salah Abdul Razzaq, a spokesman for the organisation.
"It's clear that this crime is aimed at stoking sectarian strife among Iraqis. The terrorists are trying to portray these crimes as a sectarian conflict," he said.
Mr Razzaq said 14 employees were killed and eight wounded when gunmen forced the bus to stop on a highway in Qahira district. Interior Ministry sources said gunmen first set off a car bomb and then sprayed the bus with bullets. The sources put the toll at 15 employees dead and seven wounded. In a separate attack in southern Baghdad, three car bombs killed 16 people and wounded 25.