Tribal chiefs support official's plan

Sunday, August 27, 2006 All prisoners have been removed from Abu Ghraib prison, officials said. COMBINED DISPATCHES BAGHDAD, Iraq — Hundreds of Iraqi tribal chiefs gave important support Saturday to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's national reconciliation plan, while the government leader called the release of a leading Sunni Arab lawmaker by kidnappers a gift to his unity campaign. But after a relative lull in violence Friday, 26 people were reported killed in nearly a dozen attacks around Iraq that showed there will be no quick end to the sectarian and political strife tearing at the country. Al-Maliki won endorsement of his program for bridging religious, ethnic and political divisions at a national conference of tribal chiefs. A representative of the chiefs read their agreement on live television, calling it a "pact of honor." Developments In other developments: The infamous prison at Abu Ghraib, scene of an abuse scandal that tarnished the United States' reputation worldwide and helped to fuel the growth of Iraq's insurgency, is now empty, Iraqi government officials have told McClatchy Newspapers. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Saturday praised the work of an Army brigade whose one-year tour in Iraq was extended just as they prepared to return home, and said he saw no reason for the soldiers or their families to be angry at him. "I don't put it in that context," he said. "These people are all volunteers. They all signed up. They all are there doing what they're doing because they want to do it. They're proud of what they do. They do it very, very well." Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.