Maliki visits Sunni city of Ramadi

Maliki steps out of a US army Blackhawk helicopter as he lands in Ramadi

BAGHDAD - Iraq's Shiite prime minister, hoping to show those outside the capital that the government is working to tame rising violence everywhere, traveled to the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Ramadi on Tuesday and met with tribal leaders and the provincial governor.

The visit by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki — his first as leader to volatile Anbar province — came a day after he warned that extremists would flee to other parts of Iraq during a security crackdown in Baghdad and promised government help in fighting them.

Surrounded by heavily armed bodyguards, al-Maliki also visited Iraqi security forces after he was flown to the U.S. base in a Black Hawk helicopter with Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. The two exited from different sides of the helicopter and Petraeus took part in a separate troop visit before they met again for the ride back to Baghdad.

Read the rest at Yahoo News

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