New ministerial delegation arrives in Mosul

NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Deputy Premier Rafeaa al-Isawi on Wednesday afternoon arrived in Mosul, heading a ministerial delegation to take a closer look at services in the city, and the obstacles in this regard. “The delegation includes the electricity minister, Kareem Waheed, and the undersecretaries of the two ministries of health and industry, in addition to the civilian spokesperson of Baghdad Operations Command,” sources from inside the delegation told IraqiNews.com. This delegation is considered the second that arrives in Mosul today, as per Premier Nouri al-Maliki’s instructions, after the security delegation that entered the city earlier today, consisting of the Iraqi ministers of defense, planning and immigration, in addition to a number of lawmakers that represent Ninewa province in Iraq’s council of representatives. Also today, Admiral Patrick Driscoll of the U.S. army in Iraq accused the al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) of killing 12 Iraqi Christians in Mosul (northern Iraq) a few days ago, and on October 10, 2008. A media source from the Assyrian Democratic Movement in Ninewa said that some 295 Christian families fled the city of Mosul during the past three days, due to threats they received from unknown armed groups. Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa province, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. MH (S)/SR 1