A suicide bomber on Sunday killed a deputy leader of an influential Iraqi Sunni Arab political party as he and other politicians met to discuss an upcoming provincial election, the party's leader said. Hassan Zaidan Al-Lihebi, deputy leader of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front, was killed by a suicide bomber who stormed his house, shot at guards and blew himself up in a crowded reception room, Saleh Al-Mutlaq, the party's leader told Reuters.
"The suicide bomber opened fire on the guards and entered the house. They tried to stop him but they didn't manage to do that before he got near Hassan and blew himself up," Mutlaq said.
Meanwhile, Iraqi lawmakers will form a committee to try to break the deadlock over the choice of a new speaker after the Sunnis failed to reach a consensus on a nominee, the deputy speaker said on Sunday. The Sunni speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani resigned on December 23 amid widespread complaints about his erratic behaviour, leaving the key post vacant for nearly a month.
The bid to resolve the dispute came just two weeks before the provincial election, aimed, in large part, at empowering the minority Sunnis.