CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak expressed hope Thursday that the completion of Iraq s government would help bring about reconciliation in the war-ravaged country. President Mubarak expressed … his hope that the Iraqi government will succeed in creating an atmosphere for holding the Iraqi reconciliation conference, presidential spokesman Suleiman Awwad told reporters. Awwad said Mubarak s comments were made during a meeting in Cairo with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch, who arrived in Egypt late Wednesday, as part of a tour of the region. The Arab League plans to convene the reconciliation conference, aimed at defusing sectarian tension in the country, in Baghdad later this month. Preparatory meetings for the conference were held at the League s Cairo headquarters in November. Mubarak also congratulated Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki on the completion of the government, the spokesman said. Iraq s parliament on Thursday approved the premier s choices to head the country s crucial defense and interior ministries, giving the country a complete government for the first time since December s election. The news coincided with the announcement by Iraqi and U.S. officials about the killing in an airstrike of Al-Qaeda s chief in Iraq Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, who orchestrated a bloody campaign of attacks and beheadings. World leaders hailed his death as a major blow to the organization, but there was no immediate reaction from the Egyptian government.
The U.S. military predicted Thursday that Al-Zarqawi would be succeeded by an Egyptian born lieutenant known as Abu Al-Masri. U.S. forces spokesman Major General William Caldwell said the military has been aware of Abu Al-Masri s movements for some time and believe he first came to Iraq in 2002. He may have helped establish the first Al-Qaeda cell in the Baghdad area, said Caldwell, adding that he has been involved in making roadside bombs and originally trained in Afghanistan. AFP
