Baghdad curfew declared

The government of Iraq has declared an immediate complete curfew for the capital city of Baghdad tonight until Sunday morning, the prime minister’s office said.

Haider Majeed, spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said the Cabinet had decided no vehicles or pedestrians would be permitted in Baghdad during that time. He refused to say why the curfew was being put in place.

A source at the Interior Ministry said “intelligence information on the security situation made a curfew necessary”. He refused further details.