Iraqi lawmakers shorten summer holiday

BAGHDAD – Seven U.S. troops were killed Saturday in three roadside bomb attacks, the U.S. military announced.

The deaths came as Iraq’s parliament agreed to cut its summer holiday in half, and some observers said a deal had been reached on a law to share the country’s oil wealth.

Both legislative developments were small signs that the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was creeping toward meeting White House demands to show political progress and stem sectarian violence that continues to claim Iraqi and U.S. lives.

Before the vote to extend its session, the parliament was scheduled to recess for July and August. Iraqi lawmakers denied that the decision to continue working through the end of July was due to American pressure and said they were trying to make progress on legislation. But some U.S. leaders, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, have visited Iraq recently to tell lawmakers they should not recess while the U.S. was in the midst of its troop buildup.

Although the apparent agreement on oil revenue sharing is the first sign of tangible progress in months, Iraqis have announced agreements before, only to see legislation stall. So there were no guarantees the deals struck Saturday will result in concrete measures.

It was a violent week in Iraq, with several catastrophic roadside bomb attacks that have caused multiple U.S. troop casualties.

The attacks continued Saturday, with the deaths of four soldiers in one roadside bombing northwest of Baghdad. Two other soldiers died in a roadside bombing followed by small-arms fire Saturday in eastern Baghdad, and an airman died when an explosive device detonated Saturday near his vehicle in Tikrit, the military said.

One other soldier was reported killed Saturday in a noncombat incident. The British military also reported the death of a soldier.

In Baghdad, police reported finding the bodies of 15 people, all presumed victims of sectarian violence. In Hilla, police said a car bomb killed four people and injured 18 more. Hospital officials in Samarra reported clashes between police and militants left five Iraqi civilians dead. Residents also reported that after the clash, police dragged the body of one of the militants through the streets and hung it from a telephone pole.

The U.S. military announced early Saturday that they had killed at least 17 al-Qaida militants on the fourth day of combat operations in Diyala province.

Since the beginning of the operation at least 55 suspected al-Qaida fighters have been killed and 23 detained, the military said. The military also announced Saturday that seven other suspected militants were killed around Iraq in the last two days as part of operations targeting al-Qaida leaders.

In hopes of easing violence, U.S. officials had been pushing for the Iraqi parliament to pass an oil-revenue-sharing law, set a date for new provincial elections, agree on constitutional reforms and approve legislation easing government-employment and benefits restrictions on members of the ousted Baath regime.

The oil law is the only goal that has appeared achievable, although it has yet to be introduced in parliament. Some Kurdish and Shiite Muslim members of parliament said Saturday they had reached agreement over how to divide the oil revenue.

The Kurdish and Shiite blocs control about 80 percent of parliament. Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish member of parliament, said there are several outstanding issues under debate in the oil legislation, including the power of a state-run oil company. But he has said that the Kurdistan regional government had agreed to take 17 percent of the oil wealth.

U.S. officials remain cautiously optimistic that the oil law will pass this summer. Approving the law would show that the central government can function and provide an important first agreement for the sects and regions to divide and share the country’s wealth, a U.S. embassy official said this week.