IRAQI Shi’ite politicians agreed yesterday to nominate Jawad al-Maliki as prime minister, replacing the incumbent in a bid to clear the way for a long-delayed new government.

SHI’ITE politicians failed yesterday to resolve the deadlock over their candidate for prime minister, which is blocking formation of a new government.

VIOLENCE in Iraq overshadowed a public holiday yesterday to mark the third anniversary of Baghdad’s fall to US forces.

THOUSANDS of angry Shi’ites rallied yesterday in Baghdad’s Sadr City slum against a spree of attacks that killed almost 200 people and to protest what they claim was American backing for Sunni Arabs politicians who have supported insurgent groups.

Thousands of angry Shiites today rallied in Baghdad’s Sadr City slum against a spree of attacks that killed almost 200 people and to protest what they claim was American backing for Sunni Arabs politicians who have supported insurgent groups.

SUICIDE bombers targeted Shi’ite pilgrims in the south and police recruits in central Iraq, while a roadside bomb killed five US soldiers, bringing the death toll to at least 130 people in a series of attacks.

Sunni-led insurgents firing mortars and guns attacked an Iraqi police checkpoint in northern Iraq today, killing six policemen and wounding 10, an official said.

IRAQ’s ruling Shi’ite Islamist parties struck a last-minute deal to patch up differences yesterday and agreed to register as a united bloc for December 15 polls where they face a new Sunni Arab alliance.

THE speaker of Iraq’s Parliament last night announced a one-day extension in talks on Iraq’s new constitution.

The radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr (pictured) today called on his followers to end clashes with Shiite rivals so stalled talks on a new constitution can proceed.

Insurgents targeted Iraqi security forces today in Baghdad, gunning down a neighbourhood police chief and hitting a patrol with a roadside bomb in attacks that left three people dead and at least five injured.

Interim Vice President Ibrahim al-Jaafari was chosen as his Shiite ticket’s candidate for Iraq’s next prime minister today, after Ahmad Chalabi dropped his bid.

IRAQ’S main Shi’ite alliance, fresh from winning landmark elections, gathered yesterday to choose a candidate for prime minister and the allies it needs after failing to win an absolute majority.

A suicide driver detonated a car bomb today outside the offices of Iraq’s largest Shiite political party, killing three other people.

A large explosion was heard this morning in the centre of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, and witnesses said the blast was caused by a car bomb near the offices of a leading Shiite political party.

Robin Wright sees US plans for the future of Iraq backfiring.

Clashes between British forces and Shiite militia in the southern Iraqi city of Amarah left 14 people dead and 42 injured today, according to the Health Ministry.

IRAQ got its first post-war cabinet yesterday as the funeral march for Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim, killed in the Najaf car bomb massacre, continued its three-day journey to the revered cleric’s final resting place.

THOUSANDS of angry Shi’ite Muslims, many vowing revenge, thronged the streets of the Iraqi holy city of Najaf yesterday for the funerals of three men killed in a bomb attack that wounded a top cleric.

The leader of the largest Shiite Muslim group that opposed Saddam Hussein today called for a democratic government to rule Iraq.

The leader of the largest Iraqi Shi’ite Muslim group opposed to Saddam Hussein returned to Iraq today after two decades in exile, arriving to expectations that he will figure prominently in the future of the country he was kept from for so long.

US forces yesterday said they had captured another wanted Iraqi general, as American administrators tried to curb mounting resentment among ordinary Iraqis by restoring vital services to battered Baghdad.

The Iraqi National Congress (INC): Founded in 1992 as an umbrella group for other exiled opposition groups, the INC has since faced claims it acts unilaterally as its own party.

Saddam Hussein and leading members of his government will be brought to justice following any regime change in Iraq, opposition leaders pledged yesterday.