US-Iran hold `direct' exchanges in Iraq meeting

Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, told reporters on Saturday there were "direct exchanges and meetings and discussions" between the US and Iranian delegation during a conference in Baghdad. He said the talks included examinations of their future interaction on Iraqi issues. Iraq's prime minister appealed for international help to sever networks aiding extremists and warned envoys from neighbors and world powers that Iraq's growing sectarian bloodshed could spill across the Middle East.