Clinton in Baghdad after days of bloodshed

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• Description : U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Cli...(more)nton arrived in Baghdad on Saturday, a day after suicide bombings killed dozens in the Iraqi capital. The one-day visit to Baghdad was not previously announced because of security concerns. Clinton, who spoke with reporters after she landed in Kuwait on Friday evening, said she planned to meet with the United State's top commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, to get his assessment on the recent bombings in Iraq. "I want his evaluation of what these kinds of rejectionist efforts mean," Clinton said. "And what can be done to prevent them by both the Iraqi government and the U.S. forces." Clinton added that she did not see signs of rekindled sectarian violence. "I think that the suicide bombings, that are lethal and terrible in the loss of life and the injuries they inflict, are in an unfortunately tragic way the signal that the rejectionists fear that Iraq is going in the Two suicide bombers struck separate targets Friday, killing at least 65 people near one of Shiaa Islam's holiest shrines and seven at a car dealership in Diyala, officials said. At least 149 were wounded in both incidents, Diyala province security officials said. On Thursday, a suicide bomber in Diyala killed 55 people, including 53 Iranian pilgrims, authorities said. The same day, a female suicide bomber in Baghdad killed 28 people, according to the Interior Ministry. More than 100 were wounded in both attacks, officials said. The Obama administration plans to pull out U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities by the end of June, and withdraw most troops from the country by the end of August 2010 but the recent spate of suicide bombings has raised questions about adhering to that timetable. The U.S.-Iraqi security agreement negotiated last year called for all troops to be withdrawn by the end of 2011. Clinton praised Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's "strong stand against armed insurgent elements no matter who they were." The focus is on a nonsectarian security force that will not tolerate any attacks on the Iraqis, she said. "And we will continue to support their efforts to integrate the military and I think they've made a lot of strides," Clinton added. The secretary of state also plans to meet with the prime minister and other Iraqi officials, including president Jalal Talabani and the United Nations' top envoy in Iraq, Steffan de Mistura. Her visit coincides with the arrival of the United States' new ambassador, Christopher Hill, who was confirmed to that post Tuesday in spite of strong opposition from conservative Republicans because of his previous diplomatic record on North Korea. Clinton plans to hold a town hall-style meeting in Baghdad on Saturday, to bring together Iraqi citizens and members of the U.S. provincial reconstruction teams. She will also meet separately with Iraqi women, nongovernmental organizations that support women and government staff dealing with women's issues. She said she would focus on the plight of Iraqi war widows, many of whom have been left destitute. Clinton said she has asked the state department and the U.S. Agency for International Development to develop ideas about working with the Iraqi government to provide financial support to these women and their children. This is Clinton's fourth visit to Iraq, the first in her capacity as secretary of state (less)