UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, on his first visit to Iraq since the March 2003 US-led invasion, today urged Iraqis to embrace a process aiming to reconcile all the country's ethnic and religious groups.
Mr Annan condemned the "brutal behaviour" of those responsible for attacks such as a car bomb that ripped through a Baghdad market, killing at least five people and wounding 20, within hours of his arrival in the fortress-like "Green Zone" where most government business is conducted.
Mr Annan came from Amman where he discussed Wednesday's deadly bombings in three hotels in the Jordanian capital, which al Qaeda in Iraq said was carried out by four Iraqis, including a married couple. Jordan said al Qaeda was behind the attack, but said it was carried out by three "non-Jordanian males".
"This region and particularly Iraq has suffered too much from terrorist attacks," Mr Annan said. "Even those of us at a distance feel the pain that has been inflicted on the families."
Mr Annan's visit, which was not previously announced due to security concerns, follows separate trips this week by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Ms Rice said she wanted to ease sectarian tensions that have dominated the campaign for parliamentary elections on December 15th. Mr Annan echoed that, saying he was encouraged by an Arab League initiative to call a national reconciliation conference.
"The political transition must be a process that is inclusive and transparent and takes into account the concerns of all groups," Mr Annan said after meeting ministers in the Shia and Kurdish-led government as well as Sunni Arab politicians who were left out in the cold after elections in January.
US commanders have warned that insurgents may intensify their violent campaign to disrupt the vote.
The Sunni Arabs, who represent around 20 per cent of the population, are expected to vote heavily in December elections for the first time after boycotting January's poll.
The elite under Saddam Hussein, Sunni Arabs complain their interests have been ignored by the Shia-dominated government.
Meanwhile government officials and US authorities were checking reports that Saddam's deputy Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, believed by US commanders to be helping the insurgency, had died. A website which publishes regular news releases from Baath party supporters said today that Ibrahim, the most senior member of the former regime still at large, "returned to God the Creator on Friday."
He was number six on a US list of the 55 most-wanted Iraqis, with a $10 million reward offered for his capture.