At least 42 people were killed in attacks across the country on Sunday as Iraq's President announced a series of meetings of political leaders to negotiate issues holding up completion of the new constitution.
In violence across the country seven Iraqi soldiers were killed and 17 wounded when a suicide bomber blew up a truck loaded with explosives at the entrance to an Iraqi army base in central Tikrit, 180 kilometres north of Baghdad, an Iraqi army officer said.
Three other Iraqi soldiers were killed when gunmen attacked their patrol in south Baghdad, while two other people working in the oil ministry were shot dead in Southeast Baghdad.
In Samawa, 270 kilometres Southeast of Baghdad, at least one civilian was killed and 44 wounded as protesters demanding jobs and public services clashed with police. Around 1,000 protestors gathered outside the Samawa government headquarters to protest. Violence erupted when the crowd started throwing stones at the building. Twenty-seven other people were killed in further attacks around the country.
Despite the violence, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview with Time magazine released on Sunday that the insurgency in Iraq is "losing steam" while "rather quiet political progress" remains on track.
On Saturday, two US soldiers were killed in a bomb explosion near the central city of Samarra, while a marine was killed in a suicide bombing in the Al-Amiriyah region on the western outskirts of Baghdad, the military revealed on Sunday.
Meanwhile, legislators have vowed to have the country's post-Saddam Hussein constitution ready by August 15, despite at least 18 unresolved issues including the country's official name, the role of Islam, a definition of federalism and the future of oil-rich Kirkuk.
The goal of the meetings is to "deploy the necessary efforts to reach a consensus," President Jalal Talabani told reporters late Sunday, as leaders arrived for the meeting at his Baghdad residence.
A second meeting bringing in figures from outside parliament was set for Monday, Talabani said.
"We cannot reach solutions for all the outstanding issues tonight, but we will continue the meetings until a complete resolution is met," he said.
"We are in a race against the clock," Mahmud Othman, a member of the constitutional drafting committee, told AFP ahead of the meeting, adding that there was "great US and British pressure" to meet the August 15 dateline.
US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad issued a statement on Sunday in which he wished Iraqi leaders "all the best" in their negotiations. "All sides will need to make compromises, but should feel that their essential needs are met," he said.
Personalities at the meeting include a leader of the conservative Shia majority in parliament, Abdel Aziz Hakim, and Sunni Vice President Ghazi Al-Yawar. The arrival of the President of the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani, was delayed by a sandstorm that struck Baghdad on Sunday.
Hakim said in an interview with state-owned Iraqiya television ahead of the meeting that he was optimistic differences would be resolved.
"There are some points of disagreement and we still have some talking to do, but I am optimistic at the possibility of a consensus," Hakim said.
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