Shi’ites fail to agree on prime minister

SHI’ITE politicians failed yesterday to resolve the deadlock over their candidate for prime minister, which is blocking formation of a new government.

A bomb exploded on a minibus in a Shi’ite area, killing three people and underscoring Iraq’s grave security crisis.

Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari’s Dawa party and his key backer, radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, continued to stand behind him, despite opposition to his nomination by Sunni and Kurdish parties, said Bassem Sharif, who attended a meeting yesterday of the seven Shi’ite factions. The Shi’ite politicians were to meet again today, Sharif said.