U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Bahrain to meet with regional officials, after taking an unannounced one-day trip to Iraq Friday.
During her visit to Baghdad and Mosul, Ms. Rice urged Iraqi citizens to put sectarian differences aside ahead of the December 15th parliamentary election. Ms. Rice also held talks with Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Sunni leaders. She called for greater participation in the election, saying the future of Iraq is in many ways key to the future of the Middle East.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, gunmen fired on the compound of the Embassy of Oman, killing two people.
Meanwhile, a statement from ousted dictator Saddam Hussein's Baath party says top military aide, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, is dead. There has been no independent confirmation.