Iraqi PM returns to Iraq after medical tests in Britain

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki returned Wednesday from London, where had he traveled for a round of medical tests following a prior check for heart problems, an aide to the Iraqi leader said.

Al-Maliki went to London on Sunday and spoke with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown by telephone while he was there, following the release of video showing a British hostage seized in Iraq last May. The two leaders pledged to work for the release of the hostage, identified as Peter Moore.

Health issues prompted al-Maliki's first London visit over the week straddling New Year's Day. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said al-Maliki had undergone a cardiac catheterization, a routine procedure in which a thin tube is inserted into an artery or a vein to check for heart problems.

"This trip is only for a checkup," al-Dabbagh said. "There is nothing wrong with him. He was asked by the doctor to come back within six weeks, and that is why he is going."

An aide to the prime minister, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information, said al-Maliki had returned but did not provide details of his test results.

The Shiite Prime Minister, who has been leading his shaky, strife-worn Cabinet since May 2006, has been under intense pressure to rein in the violence that persists in the country and to promote national reconciliation with Sunnis and other religious and ethnic groups.