Curfew lifted but tension high in Baghdad

An Iraqi man ponders damage to a Shi'ite mosque after an overnight mortar attack in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Baghdad authorities on Monday lifted a three-day curfew imposed on the city after the worst bombing since the U.S. invasion, but nerves were on edge amid fears of further violence.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani was due to fly to Iran to hold talks amid growing calls to seek assistance to help stop Iraq sliding into civil war from Iran and Syria. Washington accuses Syria of aiding Sunni insurgents and Tehran of backing Shi'ite militias.

King Abdullah of Jordan, who will host a summit in Amman between Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and President George W. Bush this week, said "something dramatic" must come out of the summit because Iraq was "beginning to spiral out of control".

Traffic was light in Baghdad as many residents apparently stayed home, waiting to see what would happen as vehicles circulated for the first time since Thursday's car bombs.

The multiple bombing in the Shi'ite militia stronghold of Sadr City killed 202 people and drew comparisons to the February bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra that was the trigger for a surge in violence.

Read the rest at Reuters

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