Soon: Najaf launches flights to Egypt, Jordan, Iran

NAJAF / IraqiNews.com: Flights will be launched from Najaf International Airport to Cairo, Amman, and the Iranian city of Mashhad, the head of the office of Najaf’s deputy governor said on Tuesday. “Iraqi Airways will launch a flight from Najaf International Airport to Mashhad on January 10, another to Cairo on January 14, and a third to Amman on January 17,” Ahmed Daibal said in a press release received by IraqiNews.com news agency. Najaf, about 160 km south of Baghdad, has an estimated population of 900,600 in 2008, though this has increased significantly since 2003 due to immigration from abroad. The city is one of the holiest cities of Shiite Islam and the center of Shiite political power in Iraq. SS (P)/SR 1