WASHINGTON, July 30: The US State Department said on Monday that it was trying for a change of regime in Baghdad and had invited six Iraqi opposition leaders to Washington for talks next week.

“We believe that regime change there (Iraq) would benefit all of us, including the Iraqis,” said the department’s spokesman, Philip Reeker, at a briefing in Washington.

He described President Saddam Hussein as “a direct threat” to his neighbours, adding that his ouster would also be good for the Iraqis.

Reeker said the international community needed “to be very concerned about his efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction and the capabilities with which to use them”.

He said that the United States would be coordinating with the Iraqi opposition leaders in thrashing out a strategy and hence had invited six opposition leaders to Washington for the purpose.

Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman and the undersecretary of defence will be coordinating the meeting, he added.

Reeker said it was important at this time to “increase the level of coordination and cooperation among these groups. And that’s the purpose of the meeting”.