Iraq's newly-appointed Foreign Minister has announced his plan to head a delegation to visit the Arab League Secretariat in Cairo, while the US-led coalition is considering disarmimg Shi'ite militias.

In his debut trip, Hoshiar Mahmoud Mahmmed al-Zibari will attend the two-day meeting of Arab foreign ministers starting today in Cairo, to "represent Iraq."

"A strong and clear step to all sceptics is that one of new Iraq's priorities will be to communicate with brotherly Arab countries," the minister said.

None of the Arab nations has recognized Iraq's new cabinet, appointed by Iraq's interim Governing Council and sworn in on Wednesday, though Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher on Saturday called on Arab countries not to relinquish Iraq.

Al-Zibari said the new 25-member cabinet intends to establish diplomatic relations with Arab governments, as well as Washington and London.

During his first press conference on Sunday, Al-Zibari also said Iraq will seek to send delegations to the United Nations General Assembly at the end of September and a donors' conference in Madrid in October.

The Iraqi minister hoped the fresh moves will show the world the country "is returning to its natural status in the international arena," assuring that its new policy will be reasonable compared to the fiery rule of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.

In the latest effort to pacify the conflict-plagued country in an American way, a US military spokesman stressed on Sunday that "the coalition will not turn a blind eye on any militia."

"We are supporting any Iraqi who desires to help us secure the country, however that has to be through the direction of a central government," Lieutenant Colonel George Krivo told reporters.

Reports said the US Marines, which put off the handover of Najaf to the Polish-led multinational forces following a deadly bombing there, have given Iraqi militias one week to disarm.

Armed Shi'ite groups had re-emerged in the streets of Najaf, 180 kilometres south of Baghdad, after the double-car bomb attack killed 83, including Shi'ite leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baquer al-Hakim last month.

Under the coalition's acquiescence, the armed men had co-operated with Iraqi police in the investigation and arrested a dozen suspects, some of whom were reported to be loyalists of Saddam's regime and members of the al-Qaida terror network.

However, Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV on Sunday broadcast an audio tape claimed to be of a member from al-Qaida, which denied any link to the Najaf bombing.

Two surface-to-air missiles were fired at a departing C-141 transport plane at 5:32 am (0132 GMT) Saturday at the Baghdad airport but missed the target.

The US military played down the danger despite the fact that US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was visiting the country and planned to fly to Afghanistan when the attack occurred.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2003)