Sunnis on Iraq’s constitution committee shot dead
Gunmen shot dead three Sunni Arab members of the team drafting Iraq’s new constitution on Tuesday, striking a blow against the body seen as the best hope for providing a political end to the insurgency. Drawing Sunni Arabs on to the committee, due to deliver a new constitution by Aug 15, was the cornerstone of the U.S.-backed strategy of persuading members of the restive minority to move off the streets and into peaceful politics. Sheikh Mujbil al-Sheikh Isa, Aziz Ibrahim and Dhamin Hussein Ileywi were shot as they left a restaurant in Baghdad’s central Karrada district, a police source said. Isa and Ileywi were full members of the 71-strong constitutional committee, while Ibrahim was a member of an advisory panel assisting it, said Iraqi National Dialogue spokesman Salih al-Mutlaq. Full Story