Iraq PM tours Baghdad

Iraq’s prime minister strolled Baghdad’s streets and visited police checkpoints today to showcase security ahead of an international conference aimed at stabilising the war-torn country.

Prime minister Nouri Maliki toured a neighbourhood and chatted with people, one of his advisers said.

However, the tour – during a weekly four-hour vehicle ban every Friday for the Muslim holy day – also pointed out Baghdad’s inherent risks.

Mr Maliki’s office did not release any advance details of the outing or even say where he visited because of safety concerns.

Security was heightened across Baghdad as international envoys prepared to arrive for tomorrow’s conference, which would be held at Iraq’s Foreign Ministry just outside the heavily fortified Green Zone.

“Additional security measures have been taken to protect the officials participating in the conference and to secure the location of the meeting,” said Brig. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, an Interior Ministry spokesman.

In Cairo, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said the foreign minister for Arab affairs, Hani Khalaf, would lead his country’s delegation to Baghdad.