Iraqi Premier Supports Dialogue With Insurgents

Al-Ja'fari's comments to a London-based daily (al-Hayat) came days before Thursday's general elections.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Bayan Baker Solagh announced measures to ensure that the vote takes place with a minimum of violence. They include a five-day public holiday, a ban on weapons carrying, nighttime curfews and a closure of land borders and airports from Tuesday until Friday.

Also today, the U.S. military said an American soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.

In Britain, the government said it had received no sign of a resolution of a hostage crisis in Iraq involving four Western aid workers.

The two Canadians, the American, and the Briton were captured more than two weeks ago. A deadline for their execution has passed without news on their fate.

compiled from agency reports)