May 05, 2008	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 28, 1429

BAGHDAD, May 4: Iraq on Sunday appeared to distance itself from US accusations of Iranian meddling in Iraqi affairs, saying it would not be pushed into conflict with its neighbour and wanted its own inquiry into the evidence.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had ordered the formation of a special committee comprising representatives of the various security ministries “to document any intervention in Iraqi affairs”.

“The reason behind forming this committee is to find tangible information and not information based on speculation,” Dabbagh told a news conference in Baghdad.

The Iraqis have repeatedly said they do not want their territory to become a battleground for a proxy war between the United States and Iran. The arch-foes are at loggerheads over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“We don’t want to be pushed into any conflict with any neighbouring countries, especially Iran. What happened before is enough. We paid a lot,” Dabbagh said, referring to the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war in which an estimated 1 million people died.

“It happened because the others pushed Iraq to take an aggressive stance with Iran. We want to organise relations with all neighbouring countries to preserve the interests of Iraq.”

Washington accuses Iran of funding, arming and training Shia militias to attack US-led troops and Iraqi government forces, despite its public commitment to stabilising Iraq. Tehran blames the violence on the presence of US forces.

FIRST LADY: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s wife, Hero Ibrahim Ahmed, escaped a roadside bomb attack in the heart of Baghdad that wounded her four bodyguards, officials said.

She escaped unhurt as her convoy was hit by a roadside bomb while on her way to the National Theatre in central Baghdad’s Karrada district where she was to attend a cultural programme, Talabani’s office said in a statement.

Her four bodyguards were wounded, officials said, adding that it appeared to be an indiscriminate attack in the tightly-guarded capital.—Agencies