Shiite politicians declined Saturday to select a new prime minister as internal disputes led to a delay in the balloting. Members of the Shiite alliance who won seats in parliament in the December election gathered in Baghdad to review their choice for prime minister but delayed a vote for at least a day at the request of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's faction.
Shiite officials who were presentg at the meeting told the AP the delay was due to last-minute differences between al-Sadr's faction and another group within the alliance.
Meanwhile, an Iraqi army spokesman was assassinated in Basra.
In the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi, a U.S. Marine helicopter fired two rockets Saturday into "an insurgent hide-out," killing six militants and wounding another, said Marine spokesman Capt. Jeffrey Pool.
The US attack followed clashes between American forces and resistance fighters near the soccer stadium in Ramadi, west of Baghdad.
In nearby Fallujah, gunmen shot dead a policeman Saturday as he was heading to work, police said.
In Baghdad's southern neighborhood of Dora, gunmen killed traffic policeman Ahmed Majeed Obaid as he left his home at midday, Lt. Maitham Abdul-Razzaq said. Armed men also killed police Sgt. Bassem al-Rikabi while he patrolled in the southeastern Jisr Diyala area of the capital at about 11:30 p.m. Friday, police said.
