21 killed in Iraq sectarian shootout
Foreign Desk Report

BAGHDAD—Gunmen dragged passengers off a buses northeast of Baghdad and killed 21 people, including a dozen high school students. The attackers spared four Sunni Arabs in one the worst sectarian atrocities in recent weeks.
Serwan Shokir, the mayor of Qara Tappah, said one other person was wounded in the early morning attack. He said there were 26 people on three mini headed from his town to Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. The 12 slain students were apparently headed for Baqouba to take exams. Of the dead, 19 were Shiite Turkomen and two were Kurds. The four Sunni who survived were being question at Qara Tappah police station, Shokir said. The attack occurred on the outskirts of Diyala province, a mixed region that in recent weeks has been transformed into a sectarian powder keg, with attacks against Sunni Arab and Shiite Shrines.
A parliament session was postponed Sunday after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki again failed to reach a consensus on candidates for the crucial ministers who will run the country’s armed forces and police. Al-Maliki had promised to name candidates for approval by the 275-member parliament despite the disagreement, but was apparently persuaded to wait. Deputy Parliament Speaker Khalid al-Atiya, a Shiite, said that due to the large number of candidates and failure to reach any agreement, the political parties decided “to give the prime minister another chance to have more negotiations.”
Al-Maliki had engaged in last minute negotiations Sunday with Sunni Arabs, Shiites and Kurds in an effort to find a solution. Al-Maliki and one of his deputes have staffed the posts of defense, interior and minister of state for national security since his government of national unity took office two weeks ago.
Filling the posts is seen as a key step toward al-Maliki’s plan for Iraqi forces to take control of security from U.S.-led troops in 18 months. The Interior Ministry post will go to a Shiite, the Defense Ministry to a Sunni Arab in an effort to provide balance on security matters. There were conflicting reports Sunday over the fate of four Russian diplomats kidnapped in Baghdad. An Interior Ministry spokesman on Sunday denied a report that four Russian hostages had been released the night before in a raid by Iraqi commandos. A senior ministry official Lt. Colonel Falah al-Mohamedawi said earlier that the Russian Embassy employees had been freed in a commando raid Saturday.