Iraqi political leaders began a series of talks on Monday that could break an eight month deadlock over forming a new government and assure incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of a second term. The aim of the meetings, the first of which was hosted by Kurdish regional president Masoud Barzani in the Kurdish capital Arbil, was to agree on a government of national unity including Shias, Sunnis and Kurds before a parliamentary session on Thursday.
However, there were few signs in the first encounter, which was televised live, of a meeting of minds. The session was adjourned after two hours and the talks would resume in Baghdad on Tuesday evening, the organisers said. Iraq has been without a new government since an inconclusive election on March 7 which gave the cross-sectarian, Sunni-backed Iraqiya alliance an edge, fuelling tensions as the sectarian carnage unleashed after the 2003 US-led invasion recedes and US forces prepare to withdraw in 2011.
As Monday's meeting took place, two car bombs rocked the southern holy Shia cities of Najaf and Kerbala, killing at least 14 Shia pilgrims, including Iranians. While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the attacks bore the hallmarks of a weakened but still lethal insurgency, which wants to re-ignite sectarian war and abhors what it sees as Iranian influence on Iraq's Shia leaders.