Shi'ites, Kurds move closer to deal on Iraq government

BAGHDAD - Iraq's leading Shi'ite Muslim and Kurdish politicians are nearing a deal to form a government after six weeks of wrangling following historic post-Saddam elections, officials from the two sides said.

"We expect to sign a declaration in the next few days on general principles that include dealing with the city of Kirkuk according to the interim constitution," Mohammad Bahr al-Uloum, a member of the majority Shi'ite bloc in parliament, said.

That means Iraq would still be without a new government when its first parliament convenes tomorrow and the session could be largely ceremonial.

Another Shi'ite politician expressed doubt a new government was imminent, saying there were internal disagreements between both blocs that could delay a deal.

"We have been having arguments of the deaf," he said.

In Rome, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Italy would start to withdraw from Iraq in September, adding to the list of US allies looking to cut their troop levels.

The Shi'ite alliance won a slim majority in the Jan. 30 vote and the Kurds came second, winning between them the two thirds of seats needed to form a government.

But efforts to form a government have been stymied by haggling over sharing posts and Kurdish demands over the northern oil centre of Kirkuk.

A senior Kurdish politician said the Kurds had agreed to deal with Kirkuk according to the interim constitution, which says land disputes there must wait until a new constitution is written by October and a census is held to determine the ethnic mix of the city.

"There is agreement with the United Iraqi Alliance on these principles," he said.

The parliament session, to be held under US protection, will be televised live to Iraqis desperate for a government that can quickly deliver security after relentless violence since the US-led invasion in March 2003 that ousted Saddam Hussein.

Politicians say resolving delicate issues requires patience, but some Iraqis who risked their lives to vote are starting to question whether their ballots were worth anything.

Iraqi officials hoped the elections would help reduce suicide bombings, shootings, kidnappings and beheadings. But insurgents have kept up the violence in a bid to topple the government and drive out US troops.

A car bomb that targeted a US convoy near a petrol station in Baghdad killed one person and wounded four others today, police sources said. In a separate incident, a blast near the Ministry of Health wounded two people.

A suicide bomber in a car blew himself up, killing a US soldier on patrol and injuring several Iraqis and a policeman, the US military said.

Six other soldiers were wounded in the attack which raised to at least 1,158 the number of American troops killed since the 2003 invasion.

Al Qaeda organisation in Iraq said in an internet statement it carried out the attacks on a highway near al-Amel neighbourhood in Baghdad.

Frustrations with the security crisis were underlined by a third day of protests in several cities by Iraqis enraged by reports that relatives of a Jordanian suicide bomber suspected of killing 125 people in the town of Hilla had celebrated him as a martyr after the attack last month.

In Hilla, thousands of people condemned the blast, the single bloodiest attack in postwar Iraq. They held up banners saying "no to terrorism" and called on Arabs to speak out against praise of suicide bombers.

Al Qaeda's wing in Iraq, led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for the blast which targeted people lining up for jobs in the Shi'ite town.

The Iraqi government, led by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, has strongly condemned what it called "the expressions of joy" exhibited by the bomber's family.

A prolonged political stalemate could work in favour of pro-American Allawi, who will stay in power until a new government is formed. Allawi has been trying to forge political alliances in a bid to keep his job.

The United Iraqi Alliance has put forward Shi'ite Islamist Ibrahim al-Jaafari as its candidate for prime minister. But the Kurds fear that Islamic fundamentalism could spread under him.

The Kurds are demanding one of their main leaders, Jalal Talabani, become president.

But Arabs at a gathering in Kirkuk on Tuesday said that would be unacceptable.

"The demands of the Kurds over the presidency are unreasonable. Iraq is an Arab country and its president must be an Arab," said Wasfi al-Assi, general secretary of the Arab Front in Kirkuk, which boycotted the elections.

- REUTERS