Unidentified gunmen opened fire today on a convoy carrying former Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi in an apparent assassination attempt that wounded two of his bodyguards, Chalabi’s spokesman said.

Sporadic gunfire and explosions boomed through Najaf today despite a peace deal in which radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agreed to disarm his militiamen and pull them out of a revered Shiite shrine where they have taken refuge.

The Iraqi Interior Ministry said today it had “no intention” of arresting former Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi in the near future on counterfeiting charges, despite an arrest warrant issued by an Iraqi court.

AHMAD Chalabi, the former Iraqi Governing Council member who fell out of favour with the US, has returned to Iraq to face counterfeiting charges, an official in his party said yesterday.

Former Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmed Chalabi and his nephew Salem – head of the tribunal trying Saddam Hussein – have dismissed charges against them as "ridiculous".

The Iraqi government has closed the Iraqi offices of Al-Jazeera for 30 days, accusing the pan-Arab television station of inciting violence.

Iraq’s new prime minister has made his first address to the nation, saying a rapid US withdrawal from the country would be a “major disaster” because Iraqis were not ready to handle their own security.

Iraqi Governing Council members accused American officials of pressuring them to accept Washington’s choice for the country’s new president, delaying the announcement of a new government to take power on June 30.

Differences between the Iraqi Governing Council and US authorities over who should be the country’s new president stalled a final agreement on the make-up of an interim government to take power on June 30.

A Shiite surgeon, who survived a Saddam Hussein ordered assassination attempt in London while in exile, tonight appears set to Iraq’s new prime minister.

US soldiers escorting a convoy of prisoners released from the Abu Ghraib jail came under fire today after they stopped in the middle of a road outside the Iraqi capital.

THE US agreed to suspend offensive operations in Najaf yesterday after Iraqi leaders struck a deal with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to end a stand-off threatening some of Iraq’s holiest Shiite shrines.

Gunmen today ambushed a convoy carrying a member of the Iraqi Governing Council as she was returning to Baghdad from mediation efforts in Najaf, an aide said.

IRAQIS reacted with scepticism to promises from US President George W Bush of an independent future, saying an offer of sovereignty did not go far enough to restore their freedom.

THE new Iraqi government will be able to veto coalition military operations once it assumes power in July, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday.

The Anglo-American blueprint for a post-occupation Iraq falls short of expectations, the president of the Iraqi Governing Council said today.

US President George Bush has promised to seek the incoming Iraqi government’s permission to demolish the Baghdad jail at the centre of prisoner abuse allegations.

AMERICA and Britain presented a new UN resolution last night that would transfer "governing authority" in Iraq to a sovereign interim government by June 30 and authorise a multinational force to maintain peace.

Four foreign men were killed today when their bullet-proof 4X4 blew up near an entrance to US led coalition headquarters in Baghdad.

Five people were killed when a car bomb exploded in front of the home of a senior Iraqi security official in east Baghdad today, the US military and Iraqi police said.

Iraq’s governing council has reacted with fury after police backed by American soldiers raided the home and offices of Ahmad Chalabi, a prominent politician once groomed by the Pentagon as a possible replacement for Saddam Hussein.

Ahmed Chalabi was once the Pentagon’s favourite Iraqi – seen as a possible president following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

Ahamd Chalabi, once the Pentagon’s favourite Iraqi, found himself the target of a US army raid in Baghdad today.

US soldiers and Iraqi police surrounded the residence of Iraqi political leader Ahmad Chalabi today, and an aide said the troops raided the house to search for fugitives.

IRAQ’S most influential Shi’ite cleric yesterday demanded that all armed groups withdraw from the embattled holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, where nine militiamen loyal to a rebel cleric were killed in heavy fighting with US forces.

The US governor of Iraq said today that the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis must go ahead as scheduled despite the killing of the head of the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council in a suicide bombing.

THE head of the Iraqi Governing Council was assassinated in a suicide car bombing near a checkpoint outside the coalition headquarters in central Baghdad yesterday.

Wall Street, already beset by worries about the economy and world events, skidded even lower today on news that the head of Iraq’s governing council had been assassinated. The Dow fell more than 100 points.

Oil prices are set to climb to fresh highs today in the wake of the killing of a senior Iraqi government leader.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said today the killing of the head of the Iraqi Governing Council should not deter the transfer of power from US-led coalition forces next month.

The head of Iraqi Governing Council was killed today in a car bombing near a US checkpoint in central Baghdad, an Iraqi official said.

ESCORTED by Iraqi forces, US Marines entered the centre of Fallujah yesterday for the first time since the end of the bloody siege last month.

US aircraft destroyed a Baghdad office of a radical Shiite cleric, killing two people and injuring six, his followers said today.

US marines began joint patrols with Iraqi security forces today in the city of Fallujah under the agreement that ended the almost month-long siege of the city.

The United Nations is ahead of schedule in organising Iraq’s elections but will not take part if security does not improve, the UN elections chief said.

SEVEN more US soldiers have been reprimanded in the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners, and the US officer who oversaw Baghdad’s notorious Abu Ghraib prison suggested that many more may be involved.

Outrage over the torture of Iraqi prisoners by United States troops intensified tonight after claims that the abuse included sexual assault and threats of rape.

The United Nations envoy who is helping draft an Iraqi interim government urged President George W Bush’s administration today to “tread carefully” in besieged Fallujah and avoid alienating an already angry populace.

The US is to bring members of Saddam Hussein’s disbanded Baath party in from the cold – allowing thousands of former army officers and teachers back in their jobs.

YESTERDAY'S devastating series of explosions which left 68 people dead and 238 injured in the southern Iraqi city of Basra were swiftly linked with al-Qaida.

Tony Blair has said that the UN should play a key role in mediating Iraq’s transition to sovereignty and curtailing the spiralling violence that has hindered the US-led occupation.

An Iranian envoy headed to the Iraqi holy city of Najaf today on a mission to end the American stand-off with a radical Shiite cleric.

US warplanes strafed gunmen in Fallujah and more than 100 guerrillas armed with rocket-propelled grenades pounded a lone US armoured vehicle – a sign of heavy battles ahead if troops resume a full assault on this besieged city.