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Article: Iraq opens new airport in holy city of Najaf
- Article from:
- AP Worldstream
- Article date:
- July 20, 2008
CopyrightCopyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. (Hide copyright information)
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Iraq opened a new airport in the southern city of Najaf on Sunday in what the prime minister said was a key step in the reconstruction of a country devastated by war.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, mostly Iranians, travel to Iraq every year to visit Shiite shrines in Najaf and another holy city, Karbala. The new airport is expected to boost the numbers of pious tourists.
At a ceremony, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki described the US$250 million airport as a vital element in Iraq's economic development. A military airfield was renovated for the new airport, and several flights were expected to land on Sunday.
"The Najaf airport is a starting point for ...