BAGHDAD, July 25 (UPI) -- Eighteen of about 75 Iraqi tribal chiefs signed an agreement to fight terror at a meeting with Iraqi and U.S. officials northeast of Baghdad.
The leaders, who represent some 25 clans and 100 tribes, met in Diyala province on Tuesday, Kuwait's KUNA news agency reported.
Provincial Iraqi military and police officials were joined by U.S. Army Col. David Sutherland, U.S. commander of Coalition Forces in Diyala. A statement issued afterward said the summit was to "discuss grievances between tribes, determine solutions for security and services, and unite to defeat al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations" in the province.
The agreement had the support of 18 sheiks, who said they would cooperate with Iraqi security forces in "stopping tribal conflicts such as kidnappings and murders, reporting and removing improvised explosive devices ... (and) dissolving illegal militias," the statement said.
