IRAQ URGES ACTION ON INFILTRATORS !

Life in Baghdad is full of fear despite increased security. Iraq has urged neighbouring countries to help secure its borders and prevent the infiltration of insurgents. Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari made the call at an international security conference in Baghdad that brings together Syria, Iran and the US. Mr Zebari warned that violence could spread through the region if killers and terrorists were not stopped.

The meeting comes a day before the US's top general in Iraq testifies on the impact of the latest troop increase. Also on the agenda at the Baghdad conference are the large numbers of refugees and the country's energy problems. The neighbouring countries' foreign ministers or their appointees are attending, along with envoys from the UN Security Council, the Arab League and G8, which includes the US.

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The first such conference was in Baghdad in March this year. It provided Syria, Iran and the United States with the opportunity to meet informally and discuss Iraq. That conference was followed up in May by a similar high level gathering at the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. One outcome of that was the International Compact for Iraq - a UN sponsored, five-year national plan to help to consolidate peace, governance and reconstruction in Iraq.

"Despite our emphasis on national reconciliation at home we also need to be reconciled with our neighbourhood, with the international community at large," Mr Zebari said in his opening speech. "This is a critical period for us that we need your support, your commitment especially for our immediate neighbours.

Energy security is vital for Iraq. "There should be an active and practical contribution to controlling borders and banning terrorist and criminal infiltrators from getting into Iraqi territory. "Efforts should be exerted to tighten the noose on terrorism," he said - as "the fire that terrorists and criminals are setting in the land of the two rivers [Iraq] will extend outside it." Mr Zebari said Iraq would also ban the infiltration of militants into neighbouring countries. He did not identify any country by name.

However, in the past, the US has accused both Syria and Iran of failing to stop foreign fighters from crossing into Iraq or supplying them with weapons - claims they deny.

BBC NEWS ERPORT.