Jordanian link to bombing, say Shi’ites

TWO years after the invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime, politicians are continuing negotiations aimed at creating a democratic replacement amid a continuing backdrop of violence and inter-communal tensions.

Over 2,000 Shi'ites marched yesterday through Baghdad, with some breaking into the Jordanian embassy and raising the Iraqi flag, to protest the alleged involvement of a Jordanian in Iraq's single deadliest suicide bombing a February 28 attack south of Baghdad that killed 125 people.

Meanwhile, Shi'ite and Kurdish negotiators are nearing agreement on forming a coalition and will reconvene the National Assembly on March 26 to elect a president and his council, an official said.