BAQOUBA — Specialist Robert Mathews of the US army gets down on one knee between two hulking Bradley armoured fighting vehicles and prays — his cavalry platoon is heading into war-torn downtown Baqouba.

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan panel of Washington insiders has presented US and Iraqi political leaders a formidable challenge in dealing with the chaos in Iraq, but whether they can meet it is a major question.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki met the outgoing Bahraini Ambassador to Tehran here on Tuesday.