Iraqi PM inaugurates new airport in Najaf

Baghdad: Iraqi Prime Minister on Sunday inaugurated a new airport in the southern city of Najaf.

The new airport is expected to boost the number of tourists to Iraq's Shiite shrines in Najaf and Karbala.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims travel to Iraq every year to visit the shrines.

Al Maliki has described the airport as an important step in Iraq's economic development.

A military airfield was renovated for the new airport, and several flights were expected to land on Sunday.