Iraqi Sunnis OK offer to hike their numbers on draft panel

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi political leaders broke weeks of deadlock on Thursday, with Sunni Arabs accepting a compromise offer to increase their representation on the Shiite-led parliamentary committee that is to draft a constitution.

The agreement was a significant step forward in Iraq's political process, which has been mired in arguments between Shiite and Sunni Arabs over how many Sunnis to include on the committee. Still, it fell short of being final, as political leaders have not yet agreed which Sunnis would be chosen as members.

The offer — 15 additional seats and 10 adviser positions for Sunni Arabs — was first made last week but was rejected by many Sunnis, who said they wanted more seats. Since then, Shiite members sweetened the offer, saying the committee would approve the new constitution by consensus and not by vote, making the precise number of seats held by each group less important.

Progress on the constitution came as U.S. military forces in Mosul announced they had captured an insurgent leader they identified as Muhammad Khalaf, a lieutenant of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most-wanted militant in Iraq.

Insurgent violence continued, meanwhile, with more attacks on Iraqi security forces as well as reports of the deaths of six American service members, killed Wednesday near Ramadi.

U.S. and European officials have expressed hopes that greater involvement of Sunnis in the political process, including on the constitution committee, will help dampen the insurgency, whose driving force comes from violent fringes of the Sunni Arab community.

Bahaa al-Aaraji, a senior member of the Shiite-led committee, said Thursday night that Shiite leaders impressed upon the Sunnis that the offer on representation was final.

"We told them, if you are late it's not good for you, because we start to work and we won't wait for you," Aaraji said. "That's why they agreed quickly."

"Everything is good now," he said. "Today everyone is happy."

Sunni leaders plan to meet Saturday to discuss candidates for the panel, said Mejbel al-Sheik Isa, a member of the National Dialogue Council and one of six Sunnis who will choose the new members. The effort could prove to be a lengthy one. The Iraqi government went through a similar process in a search for suitable Sunni candidates for its Cabinet, and those talks dragged on for weeks.