Iraq's Largest Sunni Bloc Threatens to Withdraw Completely From Government

  25 July 2007

The largest Sunni bloc in Iraq's parliament has suspended its participation in the government and is threatening to withdraw completely.

The Accordance Front Wednesday, gave Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki one week to meet its demands to deal with Shi'ite militias and reform the conduct of raids and arrests.

The bloc has been boycotting cabinet meetings since June to protest legal proceedings against Culture Minister Asad Kamal al-Hashimi. Al-Hashimi has been accused of arranging to have another politician killed.

Last week, the Accordance Front and a group of Shi'ite lawmakers ended a boycott of Iraq's parliament.

Also Tuesday, Baghdad police say at least six people were killed when U.S. and Iraqi forces clashed with Shi'ite militias in the Sadr City neighborhood.

And the U.S. military says it has detained the administrative head of al-Qaida in Iraq's Mosul operations during early morning raids.

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