New Iraqi ambassador in Ankara

The French news bulletin "Top Urgent" has reported that the Iraqi Foreign Ministry has nominated one of the prominent leaders of the Iraqi intelligence to be Iraq's ambassador in Ankara, and thereby to succeed former Iraqi Ambassador Rafe Dahham al-Takriti.

The latter came back to Baghdad where he assumed the post of director of the Iraqi general intelligence.

The French news bulletin added that the new ambassador, Farouk Hijazi, has worked previously as Iraq's general consul to Turkey by the beginning of the 1970s, before he occupied the post of director-general of Iraqi intelligence for 15 years.

The bulletin added that in 1994 Hijazi was in charge of following up the file of the Iraqi armed opposition in its national and Islamic parts.

It added that he carried out several secret missions in Sofia, Moscow and several West European capitals.

The French bulletin continued that the Turkish Foreign Ministry until now did not give its consent on the nomination of Hijazi, though it received his nomination two months earlier.