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| Iraqi PM visits insurgency hotbed | Iraqi PM visits insurgency hotbed |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has made an unannounced visit to Ramadi, a stronghold of the Sunni insurgency. | Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has made an unannounced visit to Ramadi, a stronghold of the Sunni insurgency. |
| It is the first visit as prime minister by Mr Maliki, a Shia Muslim, to Iraq's western, mostly-Sunni Anbar province, and is being seen as highly symbolic. | It is the first visit as prime minister by Mr Maliki, a Shia Muslim, to Iraq's western, mostly-Sunni Anbar province, and is being seen as highly symbolic. |
| He met Ramadi's provincial governor, as well as local tribal leaders and US and Iraqi military commanders. | He met Ramadi's provincial governor, as well as local tribal leaders and US and Iraqi military commanders. |
| Mr Maliki has said he wants to promote reconciliation between the minority Sunni community and the Shia community. | |
| Mr Maliki and his party travelled the 110km (68 miles) from Baghdad to Ramadi by US military helicopter. | |
| The visit comes as thousands of additional US and Iraqi troops conduct a security sweep through Baghdad trying to quell insurgent and militia violence. | The visit comes as thousands of additional US and Iraqi troops conduct a security sweep through Baghdad trying to quell insurgent and militia violence. |
| Ramadi is the capital of Anbar province, a large area stretching from west of Baghdad to Iraq's borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. | Ramadi is the capital of Anbar province, a large area stretching from west of Baghdad to Iraq's borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. |