US President George Bush arrived at Amman airport tonight to begin a two-day visit with Jordan’s king and Iraq’s prime minister for talks on finding a way to calm the sectarian violence that threatens to tear Iraq apart.

Iraq’s prime minister announced a new plan aimed at ending the deepening crisis between Shiite and Sunni parties in his government and uniting them behind the drive to stop sectarian killings that have bloodied the country for months.

SECURITY forces are closing in on the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, a senior Iraqi official said yesterday, showing a captured video of the terror chief teaching followers how to build a car bomb.

Security forces are closing in on the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, a senior official said today, showing a captured video of the terror chief teaching followers how to build a car bomb.

IRAQI security forces will dig trenches around Baghdad and set up checkpoints along all roads leading into the city to try to reduce some of the violence plaguing the capital, the Interior Ministry said yesterday.

THE largest Sunni Arab bloc in Iraq’s parliament said yesterday it was suspending its participation in the legislature until a kidnapped colleague was released, dealing a blow to efforts to involve the disaffected minority in the political process.

A pair of bombs ripped through central Baghdad just after dawn today, killing three people and injuring 21, police said.

Prime Minister Nouri Maliki says he believes Iraqi forces are capable of taking over security around the country within 18 months, but he did not mention a timetable for US-led coalition forces to leave.

Iraq’s Shiite alliance nominated tough-talking politician Jawad al-Maliki as prime minister, in a move that broke the long impasse over forming a new government to pull the country out of its sectarian strife.

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.

Sporadic clashes broke out today between gunmen and Iraqi security forces in a Sunni Arab district of northern Baghdad as soldiers sealed off streets and manned checkpoints a day after a major gunbattle there.

Suicide attackers wearing women’s robes blew themselves up today in a Shiite mosque in northern Baghdad, killing at least 79 people and wounding more than 164, police said.

A car bomb exploded today in a mostly Shiite area of eastern Baghdad, killing at least 10 and wounding 28, police said.

AMERICAN reporter Jill Carroll, who was kidnapped three months ago in an ambush that killed her translator, was released from captivity yesterday and said she had not been harmed.

Iraq police and the leader of the Islamic Party today reported that kidnapped US reporter Jill Carroll has been released after nearly three months in captivity.

VIOLENCE continued across Iraq yesterday on the eve of the anniversary of the US-led invasion.

Gunmen attacked the car of a top Sunni political leader in Baghdad today, killing one bodyguard and wounding five.

Sunni Arabs are ready to end their boycott of talks to form a new government if rival Shiites return mosques seized in last week’s sectarian attacks and meet other unspecified demands, a Sunni official said today.

Iraq’s state television has begun broadcasting appeals for the release of kidnapped American journalist Jill Carroll including footage of her mother and a major Sunni Arab politician describing the 28-year-old freelancer as a friend of Iraq.

Sunni Arab politicians called today for a government of national unity and signalled they will use their increased numbers in parliament to curb the power of rival Shiites who have claimed the biggest number of seats in the new legislature.

AN ALLIANCE of Shi’ite religious parties won the most seats in Iraq’s new parliament, results showed yesterday, but not enough to rule without coalition partners as Sunni Arabs gained seats over previous ballots.

Iraq’s electoral commission today ruled that more than 99% of the ballots from the December 15 elections were valid, opening the way for a new government to start coming together.

Gunmen kidnapped a female journalist and killed her Iraqi translator yesterday in western Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official said.

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.

Sunni Arab and secular political groups joined forces today to decide whether to reject the results of last week’s parliamentary election and call for a revote.

Sunni Arabs and a key secular party charged that parliamentary elections were tainted by fraud, and demanded an inquiry into preliminary results showing the governing Shiite religious bloc with a larger than expected lead.

IRAQ’S electoral commission released partial and preliminary results today from the last week’s elections that showed Shiite and Kurdish parties dominating in provinces where they are the predominant group.

Iraq’s electoral commission released partial and preliminary results today from the last week’s elections that showed Shiite and Kurdish parties dominating in provinces where they are the predominant group.

Sunni Arab participation in the Iraqi elections could have been even higher if there had there been more polling centres in key Sunni areas, a head of the largest Sunni Arab slate said today.

US and Iraqi troops battled insurgents house-to-house yesterday, the third day of an assault against al-Qaida-led militants in a town near the Syrian border as the US command reported the first American death in the operation.

US forces raided the homes of two officials from a prominent Sunni Arab organisation today, arresting bodyguards and confiscating weapons, Sunni officials said.