World Briefs

BAGHDAD – A suicide bomber struck Sunni and Shiite tribal leaders and high-ranking security officials touring a market after a reconciliation meeting west of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing 33 people in the second major attack in the capital area in two days.

Despite the ongoing violence, the top U.S.commander in Iraq said he does not believe the Iraqi government will ask Americans to remain in the country past a 2011 deadline set by a security agreement between the two countries.

The bombing was part of a spike of violence that comes as the U.S. military begins to draw down its forces.

BOGOTA – Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is offering up to $2 million each for the capture of four of the country's top suspected drug traffickers.

The president says both Colombian citizens and foreigners are eligible for the award, given that police believe some of the criminals may have fled the country.

Among the four being sought is the country's reputed leading drug lord, Daniel Rendon. The other three reputed drug bosses are Daniel Barrera, Pedro Guerrero and Luis Calle Serna.

BRUSSELS – Joe Biden urged NATO members to jointly confront al-Qaida and other extremist groups in Afghanistan where he said instability threatens all of the alliance's members equally.

Appearing before NATO's top decision-making body, Biden solicited ideas to reverse a losing military strategy in Afghanistan as part of Obama's policy to bring more European allies on board to fight the Taliban-led insurgency, warning that the situation in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan was worsening.

BEIJING – China responded sharply Tuesday to Washington's accusations over a confrontation at sea, an incident that analysts said could become more typical as Beijing beefs up its navy and asserts claims to adjacent waters.

The US accused Chinese ships of surrounding and harassing its Navy vessel in international waters, coming within 25 feet of the USNS Impeccable and strewing debris in its path. But China's Foreign Ministry said the American boat "broke international and Chinese laws in the South China Sea without China's permission."

ACAPULCO, Mexico – Gunmen killed six people, including a local police chief, in a series of attacks Monday in mountain towns in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero.

The police chief of Pungarabato was repeatedly shot while driving his red Mustang on a highway near the small town early Monday.

Five other men were found gunned down in different towns in the isolated mountainous zone known as the Tierra Caliente, the state police said.

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