Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki visited the battlefield in Anbar province Saturday and announced a rebuilding plan even as violence left 21 people dead and 26 wounded in the country, government and security sources said.
Spending several hours in his first visit to the province, the prime minister met top military and tribal leaders, who briefed him on the security situation and the development of military operations, Xinhua quoted Maliki's office as saying in a statement.
Maliki pledged to restore security and stability across province and announced a comprehensive reconstruction plan for cities destroyed by militant groups or in clashes with them, it said.
The plan also includes training thousands of local young men, who fight the militant groups to protect their homeland in the place of the army, which will withdraw for other missions, it added.
