Religious Shi’ites left seeking Iraq coalition

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.

A top Sunni politician, meanwhile, appealed for the release of American journalist Jill Carroll, and urged US and Iraqi forces to stop arresting Iraqi women as a deadline set by kidnappers was set to expire.

The Shi’ite United Iraqi Alliance captured 128 of the 275 seats in the December 15 election, down from the 146 it won in January 2005 balloting.