Iraq's foreign minister says U.S. and British envoys are expected to join officials from Iraq's neighbors at a meeting to discuss ways to help stem violence in Iraq.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday he bore no responsibility for the violence in Iraq, dismissing allegations from Britain's former ambassador to Iraq that Blair failed to focus on stabilizing the country immediately after the invasion.

The secretary-general of the Islamic world's largest grouping, Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), says pulling out U.S. troops from Iraq under the present "catastrophic position" would be a mistake and only lead to more violence.

On February 11, the Iraqi government commemorated the first anniversary of the bombing of the Al-Askari Mosque in Samarra. The February 22, 2006, bombing marked an escalation in sectarian tensions between Iraq's Sunni and Shi'ite Arabs that has yet to subside. February 11 coincides with the anniversary of the attack according to the Islamic calendar.

The U.S. military announced the official opening on February 5 of the joint Iraqi-U.S. Baghdad operations command center in preparation for the massive security operation to take control of Baghdad. U.S. military officials described the operation as unlike anything the city has seen and expressed optimism that the violence in the Iraqi capital could be suppressed.

The U.S. military says Iraqi forces have detained a senior Health Ministry official over allegations he is assisting Shi'ite militiamen to infiltrate the ministry.

President Bush is defending the new joint security operation aimed at reducing sectarian violence in Iraq by putting more troops on Baghdad's streets. Meanwhile, several bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital have killed at least 20 people.

A new U.S. intelligence estimate says that the chaotic situation in Iraq could deteriorate further unless the warring sectarian parties compromise. But it says that the current political climate makes such reconciliation difficult.

A new U.S. intelligence report presented to President George W. Bush says that "key elements" of the violence in Iraq can be described as a "civil war."

The U.S. intelligence community warns the situation in Iraq will get even worse if measurable action is not taken to stop the violence.

Violence continued in Iraq on Monday following a bloody weekend that included a battle in Najaf that Iraqi officials say left about 200 militants dead and more than 100 in custody. VOA's Jim Randle reports has more from Baghdad.

Scores of people have been killed in fresh violence in Iraq, while hundreds of Sunni Arabs continued to protest the execution of former President Saddam Hussein.