Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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September 9, 2007

Iraqi PM Urges Neighbors to Unite Against 'Evil Forces'
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1957DE8:A6F02AD83191E1606DAB684999A98C8D9574F7DCC14957C0 Mr. Maliki made the
appeal Sunday at a Baghdad conference attended by Iraq's neighbors,
the United States and delegations from the United Nations, European
Union and the Group of Eight industrialized nations





Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki 

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has asked neighboring countries
to help stop what he calls "evil forces" from destabilizing the
region.

Mr. Maliki made the appeal Sunday at a Baghdad conference attended by
Iraq's neighbors, the United States and delegations from the United
Nations, European Union and the Group of Eight industrialized nations.

Mr. Maliki said Iraq and its neighbors must unite against terrorist
groups who he says "will not stop at the borders of one country."

In another development, the U.S. military says it has killed the
mastermind of truck bombings that killed more than 400 ethnic Yazidis
in northern Iraq last month.

The military says Abu Muhammad al-Afri, a regional leader of al-Qaida
in Iraq, died in a coalition air strike on September 3rd near the
northern city of Mosul.

Elsewhere, Iraqi officials say gunmen attacked a police station Sunday
near the town of Tikrit, killing five policemen.

At the Baghdad conference, Mr. Maliki said Iraq's government has
achieved "significant triumphs" in different areas, despite what he
called the "economic destruction" he inherited.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari urged neighboring states to
tighten their borders to prevent what he called "terrorists and
killers" from crossing into Iraq.

Zebari warned that "fires lit inside Iraq" could spread outside its
borders and endanger other states. He did not identify any country by
name.

Washington accuses Syria of allowing foreign fighters to cross into
Iraq and accuses Iran of supplying and training Iraqi Shi'ite militias
-- charges both countries deny.

Today's conference is the second of its kind. The delegations first
met in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt in May.

 Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and
Reuters.


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