Gul, Erdogan discuss Iraq security with Sadr

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed on Friday with Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr security developments in Iraq, according to the Turkish Anatolian news agency. “Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr had a session of talks during his visit to Turkey with Prime Minister Erdogan and later met with President Gul at his residence,” the Turkish agency said. This is the first time Sadr makes public appearance as he kept a low profile since June 2007. His visit to Turkey comes a couple of months ahead of the scheduled U.S. withdrawal from Iraqi cities on June 30 and coincided with an upsurge in suicide attacks in several areas in Baghdad, including Sadr City, the key stronghold of Sadr’s followers. The eastern Baghdad district on Wednesday (April 29) had come under attacks with two car bombs that left dozens killed or wounded. The chain of blasts was described by observers as yet another attempt on the part of Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) network and Baathists to provoke the Mahdi Army, the Sadrists’ armed wing, and drag it into sectarian showdown. AmR (P) 1