Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki visited the western city of Ramadi, the Sunni stronghold west of Baghdad, on Tuesday in an effort to show his government is getting on top of the security situation. The Shiite premier met the governor of Anbar province, Maamun Sami Rashid at camp Blue Diamond, a base shared by the US troops and the 7th division of Iraqi army.
Ramadi is the capital of Anbar province.
According to AFP, US marine Brigadier General John Allen described the meeting as "another example of development of reconciliation."
Meanwhile, over 700 additional American soldiers arrived in Iraq's Diyala province on Tuesday to try to quell burgeoning violence northeast of Baghdad during a security crackdown in the capital. The Army's 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division moved from northern Baghdad into Baqouba early Tuesday to supplement about 3,500 American soldiers already stationed there, the AP reported.
On Tuesday, a roadside bomb hit a minibus carrying Industry Ministry employees in northern Baghdad, killing two workers and injuring six. And in Suwayrah, 25 miles south of Baghdad, police dragged two bodies out of Tigris River, a morgue official said in Kut. The bodies showed signs of torture.
Also in Kut, gunmen killed an interpreter working for coalition troops. Police said Ibrahim Sasa was killed in the center of the provincial capital.
