Iraq: A car bomb killed at least 31 people near Baghdad and gunmen assassinated the brother of a leading Sunni Arab politician yesterday, yet signs emerged of some progress toward resolving Iraq's political deadlock.
The evening blast in Baghdad's mostly Shia Saba'a al-Bor area came a day after a car bomb killed 92 people in a town north of the Iraqi capital.
Growing sectarian bloodshed is raising fears of civil war between the majority Shia and the Sunni Arab minority, and has already forced more than 60,000 people to flee their homes across the country.
Gunmen yesterday shot dead Mahmoud Ahmed, brother of Tareq al-Hashemi, who is tipped to become the speaker of the new parliament. The motive was not immediately clear.
Despite pressure from the US for a national unity government and warnings from some Arab countries that Iraq is sliding into civil war, political leaders have been deadlocked on forming a new government since December's parliamentary polls. However a strong sign of a possible breakthrough came yesterday.
The ruling Shia Alliance said it would attend Monday's parliamentary session, dropping demands that a parliament speaker, the prime minister and the president are agreed on by all parties before the bloc goes to parliament.
"The alliance has decided unanimously to take part in Monday's parliament session whether we have reached a deal on the president, prime minister and speaker of parliament," Ridda Jawad al-Takki, a senior member in the alliance, said.
The alliance, the largest bloc in parliament, is facing intense pressure from Sunnis and Kurds to drop Ibrahim al-Jaafari as its candidate for prime minister.
The political vacuum comes at a time of escalating bloodshed that Washington fears could trigger civil war and complicate a US troop withdrawal ahead of congressional polls in November.
In a bid to break the impasse by Monday, Mr al-Takki said alliance officials would hold "extensive meetings" with the Sunni and Kurdish blocs to discuss the premiership and other key posts.
Some politicians have suggested the parliament should settle Mr al-Jaafari's fate on Monday if the alliance does not.
Political sources said the two rivals in the alliance - Mr al-Jaafari's Dawa party and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq - have been holding separate meetings since Wednesday in the hope of reaching a deal.
- (Reuters)