U.S. cooperation on security welcomed

BAGHDAD — Iraq is open to greater American military cooperation as U.S. commanders explore ways to boost security assistance to the country, a top Iraqi official said Thursday as a fresh wave of bombings claimed 16 lives.

The Chairman of the U. S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, has recommended that military American commanders look for ways to help improve the military capabilities of Iraq and Lebanon, which both face the risk of spillover from the civil war in neighboring Syria.

Ali al-Moussawi, the media adviser for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said Baghdad would welcome increased arms sales and faster weapons deliveries along with U. S. training teams to help it confront rising regional instability and terrorist threats.

Two suspects have been arrested, but the U.N. officials urged the Congolese to follow through with the “prosecution of all perpetrators involved in this despicable practice.” classical Arabic with an accent, may have been Chechen, the Observatory said.