Iraqi Leaders Meeting To Address Political Crisis

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (file photo) (RFE/RL) July 27, 2007 -- Iraqi leaders are meeting today in Baghdad to seek an end to the country's political crisis and to discuss possible amendments to the constitution.

The meeting will bring together President Jalal Talabani, who is Kurdish, Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi.

Sunni Arab ministers in the government have stopped attending cabinet meetings, while Shi'ite ministers loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have left the government.

The meeting comes a day after a car bomb attack in central Baghdad killed 25 people and wounded 115.

Meanwhile, clashes broke out early today between U.S. forces and militiamen of al-Sadr's Imam Al-Mahdi Army in the city of Karbala, south of Baghdad.

At least three militiamen have been killed in the fighting.

(AFP, dpa)