Iraq neighbours agree more security cooperation

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Iraq's neighbours agreed on Monday to step up security cooperation at a meeting attended by the United States, but delegates said political divisions undermined the regional effort to stop an influx of militants.

The two-day conference on ways to prevent threats to the U.S.-backed Iraqi government from abroad concluded as fighting resumed in Baghdad after a day's lull between U.S. and government forces and fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has ties with Iran.

The meeting, attended by officials from Iraq's six neighbours plus the United States, Russia and the European Union, recommended adopting international standards in combating terrorism and exchange of security information on groups fighting the elected government.

"Activating information channels on security issues is a must," said a conference document obtained by Reuters.

The U.S. embassy in Damascus said in a statement Washington hoped the conference, the second in six months, would translate into "serious commitment" to halting infiltration into Iraq.

Terrorist support networks throughout the region "continue to be a significant threat to the stability of Iraq," the statement added.

Exchanges at the conference were sometimes tense, delegates said, with Iraqi and Syrian security officials blaming each other for lax monitoring along their 600-km (375 mile) border.

The chairman, a Syrian foreign ministry official, intervened and said the matter was better left to bilateral talks.