US Secretary of State John Kerry has urged Iraq’s top Shi’ite leaders to give more government power to political opponents before a Sunni insurgency seizes more control across the country and sweeps away hopes of lasting peace.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has urged Iraq’s top Shiite leaders to give more government power to political opponents before a Sunni insurgency seizes more control across the country and sweeps away hopes of lasting peace.

Iraq’s Christians were today quietly celebrating Christmas with a present from the government, which declared it an official holiday for the first time.

Eight Iraqi civilians were killed and four others were wounded when a suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden fuel tanker was fatally shot by police and his truck blew up near police headquarters in Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, police said today.