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BAGHDAD (Reuters)
- Iraq's main Sunni political bloc boycotted
parliament for a second straight day on Monday and
said the walkout would last until a colleague was
freed by gunmen who seized her in a Shiite area of
Baghdad two days ago.
"Members of the Iraqi Accordance Front will not
attend parliament's session today. We are suspending
our participation until the release of Mashhadani,"
Sunni leader Adnan al-Dulaimi told Reuters.
Taiseer Najah al-Mashhadani and seven of her
bodyguards were taken at gunpoint in northern
Baghdad on Saturday after two cars full of gunmen
blocked their way.
No one has claimed responsibility and Dulaimi did
not blame any group. But Sunni leaders have accused
militias of the Shiite majority now in power of
targeting Sunnis.
Politicians from the Sunni Arab minority community,
which dominated Iraqi politics until fellow Sunni
Saddam Hussein was toppled in the U.S.-led invasion
in 2003, have in the past staged walkouts as a form
of protest.
The Front holds 44 of Parliament's 275 seats.
After staying away from polls during previous
U.S.-sponsored votes, Sunnis took part in December's
legislative elections for the first time since the
invasion.
Their inclusion in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's
government of national unity raised hopes Sunni's
participation in the political process would weaken
the Sunni insurgency against the Shiite-led
government.
Reuters
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