Kerry To Tell Iraq: 'Stop Iran-Syria Flights'

US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Iraq in an attempt to stop Iran using the country's airspace to deliver supplies to Syria.

The Americans are worried that the Iranians, which have to fly over Iraq in order to reach Syria, are delivering weapons to Bashar al-Assad's regime.

According to sources, Iranian aircraft carrying military personnel and equipment are flying over Iraq to Syria on a nearly daily basis.

Mr Kerry flew in to Baghdad having accompanied President Barack Obama on a three-day visit to Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan.

He was due to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other senior officials when he was expected to urge them to stop the 'overflights'.

Former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton had previously got Iraq to agree to prevent Iran using its airspace for flights to Syria, but it had so far only checked two flights.

Iran also uses a land-based route to ship supplies to Syria. Iran says all its shipments contain humanitarian supplies.

The US claims it is in Iraq's interest to stop the shipments as a deteriorating situation in Syria could spill into surrounding countries.

Homes in Syria destroyed by president al Assad's forces

US officials claim that there links between al Qaeda extremists operating in Syria and terrorists carrying out attacks in Iraq.

A UN envoy warned earlier this week that there was a "very real potential" for a spillover of violence from Syria to Iraq.

Martin Kobler said that between November and the end of February, acts of terrorism claimed the lives of almost 1,300 civilians and 591 members of the Iraqi security forces.

Mr Kerry will tell Mr al-Maliki that Iraq cannot be part of the political discussion about Syria's future until it clamps down on the shipments, a source said.

As Iraq approaches provincial elections next month, Mr Kerry will also stress the importance of ensuring that all elements of society feel engaged in the political process.

Mr Kerry also plans to speak by phone with Massoud Barzani, the head of the Kurdish Regional Government based in Irbil, to ask the Kurds not go ahead with unilateral actions - like an oil pipeline deal with Turkey.

His arrival came just three days after the 10th anniversary of the start of the US-led war that began on March 20, 2003.

The invasion and toppling of Saddam Hussein sparked years of bloodshed as Sunni and Shiite militants battled US forces and each other, leaving 179 British troops, nearly 4,500 US soldiers and more than 100,000 Iraqis dead.

Violence has ebbed since the peak of Sunni-Shiite fighting that pushed the country to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007.

But insurgents still regularly stage high-profile attacks, and sectarian and ethnic rivalries remain threats to the country's long-term stability.

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