Iraqi PM sends sympathy for slain Iranian pilgrims

Iraq's leader sent a letter of condolence to Teheran on Monday over the killing of dozens of Iranian pilgrims in bombings in Baghdad and north of the capital. The gesture came two days after Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei held the US and Israel responsible for last week's suicide bombings. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki blamed the bombings on al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni insurgents trying to "destabilize security and stability in Iraq and provoke sectarian strife." Al-Maliki also promised the violence would not harm relations between the two countries.