Iraq closes Baghdad, Basra airports

BAGHDAD: Iraq on Thursday closed its two main airports, in the capital Baghdad and the southern city of Basra, a senior government official said.

"As part of the indefinite curfew declared after the bombing in Sadr City, Baghdad airport will remain closed," he told AFP, referring to the attacks in which at least 152 people were killed earlier in the day.

Basra airport and three ports in the Basra region -- Um Qasr, Khor Jubair and Al-Muaqqal -- will also close, said Samer al-Saqlawi, advisor to the transport minister Karim Mahdi Saleh.