Iraq delays key parliament session as fightback stumbles

BAGHDAD, July 7 (agencies): A crucial parliament session kickstarting the government formation process was delayed and an Iraqi general was killed Monday as solutions to the country's worst crisis in years appeared increasingly distant.
The developments highlighted bickering among political leaders despite calls for unity to see off a jihadist-led offensive that has overrun swathes of territory and which the security forces have struggled to repel.
The swift advance has displaced hundreds of thousands, alarmed the international community and heaped pressure on incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as he bids for a third term in office.
But the government formation process, which international leaders and top clerics have urged be expedited, was dealt a blow when a parliament session scheduled for Tuesday was postponed due to persistent disunity.
Multiple officials and a lawmaker, all speaking on condition of anonymity, said the meeting had rescheduled for August 12 because MPs could not agree on a new speaker.
More than two months after elections in which Maliki's camp won the most seats, though not a majority, parliament has yet to begin the process of choosing the country's top three positions, which according to an unofficial deal are split between the Shiite Arab, Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities.
A session last week ended in chaos, with MPs trading heckles and threats before some of them eventually walked out, forcing an adjournment, with the UN's special envoy warning that further delays risked plunging the country into "Syria-like chaos".
Iraqi forces have largely regrouped after the debacle that saw soldiers abandon their positions and, in some cases, even weapons and uniforms as militants led by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group conquered second city Mosul and advanced to within about 80 kilometres (50 miles) of Baghdad.
But while Iraq has received equipment, intelligence and ground help from the United States, Russia, Iran and even Shiite militias it once shunned, languishing government efforts to push back were dealt a blow by the killing of a senior general on Monday.
Major General Najm Abdullah al-Sudani, the commander of the army's 6th division, "was killed by hostile shelling in Ibrahim bin Ali," Lieutenant General Qassem Atta told AFP by text message.
Ibrahim bin Ali is in the Abu Ghraib area, just west of Baghdad, near where security forces have been locked in a months-long standoff with militants who have seized control of the city of Fallujah.
Security forces have for more than a week also attempted to wrest back the Sunni stronghold of Tikrit from a loose alliance of IS fighters, other jihadist groups and former Saddam Hussein loyalists but have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.
Iraqi forces have been hamstrung by a lack of combat experience and dearth of intelligence in Sunni areas, due largely to distrust of the Shiite-led authorities among minority Sunni Arabs, analysts say.