- DAMASCUS, Syria: One of Iraq's most powerful Shiite political clerics made a rare trip abroad to Syria for talks on the deadlocked government in Baghdad.
Muqtada Al-Sadr, who resides primarily in Iran, met with Syrian President Bashar Assad on Saturday for talks on the political situation in Iraq.
Al-Sadr's bloc of 39 seats makes him a key player in Iraq's politics where political factions have spent the last four months trying to form a government after inconclusive elections.
Assad urged Iraqi parties to put aside their differences and form a government swiftly to avoid "negative developments." Home to about a million Iraqis refugees, including supporters of the previous regime, Syria has long had influence on events in Iraq.