Sunni Bloc Quits Iraqi Cabinet

[L. Coyote]

Sunni Bloc Quits Iraqi Cabinet
August 1, 2007 9:01 PM
By LAUREN FRAYER - Associated Press Writer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6821015,00.html

BAGHDAD (AP) - Baghdad shook with bombings and political upheaval Wednesday as the largest Sunni Arab bloc quit the government and a suicide attacker blew up his fuel tanker in one of several attacks that claimed 142 lives nationwide.

The Iraqi Accordance Front's withdrawal from the Cabinet leaves only two Sunnis in the 40-member body, undermining Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's efforts to pull together rival factions and pass reconciliation laws the U.S. considers benchmarks that could lead to sectarian reconciliation.

The U.S. military announced the deaths of four more American soldiers, including three killed in Baghdad on Tuesday by a powerful armor-piercing bomb. Washington says these types of bombs are sent from Iran. The fourth soldier was killed by small arms fire on the same day. A British soldier also was killed Tuesday in a roadside bombing. .....