Obama continues Mideast tour

Amman: Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama is due to meet Jordan's King Abdullah for talks on Tuesday.

He will hold private meetings with the Jordanian leader before meeting other top officials.

Obama wrapped up his tour of Iraw by travelling to a former hotbed of the Sunni insurgency on Tuesday for talks with tribal leaders who joined the fight against Al Qaida in Iraq.

He met leaders of the so-called Awakening Council movement in Ramadi, capital of the western Anbar province where Al Qaida once had the upper hand against embattled US and Iraqi troops.

The meetings came near the end of his two-day stop in Iraq.

Obama will then head to Israel on Wednesday where he intends to visit Sderot, a southern Israeli town that is a frequent target of rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza, campaign aides said on Tuesday.

The Illinois senator also intends to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on the West Bank on Wednesday, as well as with Israeli leaders.

Obama is on a weeklong trip of Afghanistan, the Middle East and Europe.

Aides said Obama wanted to visit Sderot to gain a firsthand view of life in a part of Israel that has come under military attacks. His schedule indicates he intends to spend only slightly more than an hour on the ground.

The aides declined to speak on the record, turning aside reporters' requests that they do so.

In addition to Abbas, Obama's meeting list for the day includes Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and members of his Cabinet as well as Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the opposition Likud party and a former prime minister.