Shi’ites oppose efforts to convene Iraqi parliament

IRAQ was plunged into political deadlock yesterday as the dominant Shi’ites opposed efforts by President Jalal Talabani to convene parliament amid bickering over who should lead a government of national unity.

The dispute came amid increasing violence, which saw at least 16 people killed in 18 attacks, eight of them car bombs, as two Canadians and a Briton kidnapped in Iraq appeared in a new video message appealing for their release.

And in the south of the country, an Iraqi security official accused British soldiers in Basra of shooting and wounding four Iraqis, among them police officers, after police tried to check their identification.