Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq 

Iraqi hospital morgue employees cover their faces as they wheel the victims of a bomb attack on a market in Baghdad. Bomb and mortar attacks have tormented war-weary Baghdad, killing 23 people, as Iraq set the date for a security conference that could see Washington sit down with archfoes Iran and Syria. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    BAGHDAD, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi government announced Wednesday that it will host neighboring countries and other world powers for a mid-March meeting meant to enlist support for Iraqi government efforts at stabilizing the country.

    The meeting will be held on the tenth of March and will include officials of neighboring countries, the UN Security Council, the United Nations, the Arab League and the organization of the Islamic Conference, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office said in a statement.

    Earlier in the month, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said he expected the gathering would mark an important turning point in these countries' vision of the situation in Iraq.

    However, the call of the meeting comes as violence rages in Iraq despite the government's measures to crack down on illegal militia and the U.S. decision to send 21,000 more soldiers to the war-torn country.

Five people killed, 22 injured in attacks in Baghdad

An Iraqi woman carrying her shopping bag walks amid the rubble of a bombed market in Baghdad. Bomb and mortar attacks have tormented war-weary Baghdad, killing 23 people, as Iraq set the date for a security conference that could see Washington sit down with archfoes Iran and Syria. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    BAGHDAD, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- A roadside bomb and a mortar barrage killed five people and wounding 22 others in Baghdad on Wednesday, a well-informed police source said.

    Five mortar rounds landed at a crowded market in the Shurta al-Rabia neighborhood in southwestern the capital on Wednesday afternoon, killing four people and wounding 20 others," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    In separate incident, a roadside bomb detonated on the mainroad at the al-Rasheed town, killing a civilian and wounding two others, the source added.

    A wave of bomb attacks claimed the lives of dozens of Iraqis in the past few days despite the presence of some 85,000 U.S. and Iraqi security forces across the capital in a major offensive aimed at curbing insurgency and sectarian violence in the war-torn country.

An Iraqi woman carrying her shopping bag walks amid the rubble of a bombed market. Bomb and mortar attacks have tormented war-weary Baghdad, killing 23 people, as Iraq set the date for a security conference that could see Washington sit down with archfoes Iran and Syria.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)Photo Gallery >>>

Iraq VP survives bomb in Baghdad

    BAGHDAD, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- An explosion struck an Iraqi ministry in Baghdad on Monday, killing four people, but Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi who inside it escaped unhurt, Qatar-based al-Jazeera television reported.

    The blast took place during the Shiite vice president's visit to the building of the ministry, the channel said without elaboration. Full Story

Iraqi president urges all to stop interference in Iraq's affairs

Iranian president Mahmud Ahmadinejad (R) and Iraqi president Jalal Talabani (L) talk to media during an official meeting in Tehran, Nov. 27, 2006. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has called on all to stop meddling in his country's internal affairs and help the country restore peace and stability, Kuwait'sofficial KUNA news agency reported on Saturday.

    "I know who does intervene in Iraqi internal affairs and who does not, but it is not in Iraq's interests at present to name the interveners lest I should pour oil on fire," the president said in an interview to be carried by the local daily al-Anbaa on Sunday.

    In the interview during his visit to Damascus, Syria, he voiced hope to Kuwaiti media that the new Iraq would play "a positive role in cementing Arab solidarity and genuine regional cooperation based on respect for sovereignty and independence of all neighbors." Full Story