Disputed results block Iraq coalition talks

SUNNI Arab and secular groups refused yesterday to open discussions with the Shiite religious bloc, leading in Iraq's parliamentary elections, until a full review of the contested results is carried out.

Their refusal could deepen the political turmoil in Iraq and follows a UN observer's endorsement of the December 15 elections. The official said the results were credible and that they should stand.

"We are not taking part in discussions," said Nasser al-Ani, a senior official in the main Sunni Arab coalition - the Iraqi Accordance Front.

Preliminary results from the vote have given the governing Shiite religious bloc, the United Iraqi Alliance, a big lead - but one that would still require coalition.

Al-Ani told The Associated Press that his political group is in favour of a broad-based coalition government, but would not begin contacts until the matter of the contested results is resolved.

Mehedi al-Hafidh, a senior member of the secular Iraqi National List, headed by former Shiite Premier Ayad Allawi, raised similar concerns.

"We confirm that we are not part of this process of consultations to form a new government," said al-Hafidh.

The Bush administration and many Iraqi officials hope the elections will lead to a broad-based government that will include minority Sunni Arabs as well as secular Shiites like Allawi, and which will allow for a reduction in US and coalition forces.

On Thursday, Polish President Lech Kaczynski approved the extension of his country's military mission in Iraq for another year.

The UN endorsement of the elections came on Wednesday, after opposition groups demanded an international intervention and an independent review of more than 1,500 complaints about irregularities.

The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq renewed an invitation yesterday for international organisations and local political representatives to review the poll amidst ongoing violence.

Gunmen yesterday killed 12 members of an extended Shiite family near Latifiyah, a Sunni Arab-dominated town about 20 miles south of Baghdad. Police Capt. Hussein Shamil said the men were taken from their homes, packed into a minivan and shot. No further details were available.

A suicide bomber, meanwhile, detonated his explosives belt on a street near the Interior Ministry, killing one police officer and wounding four.

Gunmen in Baghdad assassinated an Iraqi driver working with a French company, while a university student in Baghdad was killed in a drive-by shooting.

US airstrikes launched by two F-16 fighter jets in Kirkuk province killed 10 insurgents on Tuesday, the military said.

The country's largest oil refinery, meanwhile, has suspended operations after insurgents threatened to kill drivers and blow up trucks that distribute its oil products across Iraq, according to Iraq's oil ministry.