Iran, Syria expected to join US at Baghdad talks next month

BAGHDAD, Iraq: Envoys from the West and Islamic nations — including Iran, Syria and the United States — are expected to attend a conference next month on efforts to stabilize Iraq, a diplomatic adviser said Tuesday.

The meeting, planned for mid-March in the Iraqi capital, is an attempt by the U.S.-backed government to seek greater regional assistance and study ways to fight insurgents and tensions between Iraq's majority Shiite Muslims and Sunnis.