Strongest Iraqi Sunni faction 'will join government talks' (Roundup)

Jan 22, 2006, 17:35 GMT

Baghdad - The strongest Sunni faction in the newly-elected Iraqi parliament said Sunday it will seek to be part of a government of national unity even though it still doubts the results of the elections.

Dhafer al-Ani of the National Accordance Front told reporters in Baghdad that his bloc would not hinder the moving forward of the political process.

Nevertheless, the official election results announced by the election commission last Friday were not satisfactory, he said, and complaints of electoral fraud were not adequately investigated.

The results of Iraq's December 15 parliamentary elections altered slightly in favour of the Sunni and Kurdish parties following an investigation by the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, it was announced in Baghdad Friday.

The religious Shiite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) took 128 parliamentary seats - down from an initial result of 132 - out of a total of 277.

The Kurdish Alliance came second with 53 seats, up from 50, and the Sunni National Accordance Front came third with 44 seats, up from 42.

Controversy meanwhile continued over who would head the panel of judges presiding over the trial of deposed leader Saddam Hussein, scheduled to resume Tuesday.

It began when Rizgar Amin submitted his resignation earlier this month, reportedly complaining of government intervention. Amin has not actually announced the reasons behind his decision.

While Said Hameesh, a member of the five-judge tribunal trying Saddam, has been tipped to fill Amin's place and is scheduled to preside Tuesday according to a judicial source who spoke to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, not everyone is happy with the judge's departure.

Efforts are still apparently afoot to convince Amin to stay the course in the trial of Saddam and seven members of his deposed regime, according to the Iraqi press.

The trial began in October 2005 on charges related to the 1982 killing of 148 Iraqis in Dujail, north of Baghdad.

Meanwhile on the security front, a Latvian Soldier was injured by small-arms fire Sunday in Kut, 170 km southeast of Baghdad, said a statement from the U.S.-dominated multinational forces in Iraq.

Persons unknown fired at the guards in an observation post. The guards returned fire.

The wounded soldier received first aid and was transported to a military medical facility. His condition is stable.

Several small insurgent attacks, most targeting Iraqi security, killed and injured police and civilians alike.

A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol killed three Iraqi policemen and injured eight Sunday in Baquba, 60 kilometres north- east of Baghdad, said hospital sources.

A man and his son were killed in Baquba near an Internet café when gunmen opened fire on them, said eyewitnesses.

The explosion of a roadside bomb in the town of Baldaruz, 100 km northeast of Baghdad, killed five people from one family, said hospital sources.

The circumstances surrounding the incident were not clear, however, civilian vehicles in the vicinity of military or police patrols often fall victim to roadside bombs.