Iraqi airport reopens after 'terrorist plot'

AN AIRPORT in southern Iraq is to reopen for domestic flights a week after its closure due to a purported 9/11-style plot by an al-Qaeda affiliate to fly hijacked planes into Shiite holy shrines.

The transport ministry said it was not clear when international flights would resume at the airport near Najaf. Among the city's holy sites is the gold-domed Imam Ali shrine, one of the most revered Shiite mosques.