The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Seoul - South Korea said on Monday its plans to send 3,000 troops to Iraq would go ahead despite threats from militants to behead a Korean hostage. "There is no change in the government's spirit and position that it will send troops to Iraq to help establish peace and rebuild Iraq," said deputy foreign minister Choi Young-jin at a news conference. Baghdad - Iraq says it plans to restructure its security forces to target insurgents ahead of sovereignty returning to the country June 30. Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi says local police will get the support of an Iraqi army that, he says, should have remained intact in the first place. "Until our forces are fully capable we will continue to need support from our friends," Allawi told reporters. He also said he may impose martial law in trouble spots, in order to help police and security forces maintain control. Allawi also appealed to the international community for help in stabilizing security in Iraq. Moscow - Russian authorities says Chechen militants are problem responsible for sabotaging an oil pipeline in Dagestan. The early morning rupture and fire spilled more than 60 tonnes of oil from the Tikhoretsk-Baku pipeline which runs through Dagestan near the border with Chechnya. Russia's main security agency says it believes an explosion was the likeliest cause of the rupture and fire.
