Gunmen wearing commando uniforms of the Shiite-dominated Interior Ministry stormed an Iraqi security company that relied heavily on Sunni ex-military men from the Saddam Hussein regime and abducted 50 hostages.

Iran’s foreign minister yesterday demanded the immediate withdrawal of British forces from Basra, saying their presence had destabilised Iraq’s second-largest city.

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.