Iraq's prime minister and his radical Shiite backers vowed to fight a bid by Sunni Arabs and Kurds to oust him, threatening to plunge the country into political turmoil, delay formation of a new government and undercut US plans to begin withdrawing troops this year.

Meanwhile, gunmen attacked the disabled car of Iraq's top Sunni politician, Adnan al-Dulaimi, killing one bodyguard and wounding five after al-Dulaimi sped away in another vehicle. It was not clear whether the assault was an assassination attempt, and the Sunni leader refused to blame anyone. Altogether, 39 people died Thursday in a new round of violence.

A coalition of Sunni, Kurdish and secular parties formally asked the Shiite bloc Thursday to withdraw its nomination of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari for another term. The prime minister's adviser, Haider al-Ibadi, insisted the bloc would stick by its candidate.

Many Sunnis blame al-Jaafari for failing to rein in commandos of the Shiite-led Interior Ministry. And Kurds accuse al-Jaafari of dragging his heels on resolving their claims around the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

Al-Jaafari won the nomination by a single vote during an election February 12 among Shiite lawmakers who won seats in the December 15 parliamentary election. He defeated Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi in large part because of the support of radical, anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The idea of a prime minister who owes his position to the young radical has alarmed not only Sunni Arabs and Kurds, but also several key figures in the Shiite alliance. Abdul-Mahdi was the candidate of Shiite Alliance leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, who often is at odds with al-Sadr.

But the alliance does not know how to resolve the problem without risking a huge fight with al-Sadr, who is revered among impoverished Shiite militias and who has an armed militia allegedly behind many attacks against Sunni mosques last week.

Al-Ibadi lashed out at the prime minister's opponents, accusing them of trying to delay formation of a new government.

"There are some elements who have personal differences with al-Jaafari," al-Ibadi told the Associated Press. "The Alliance is still sticking to its candidate."

As expected, the move against al-Jaafari also drew sharp opposition from al-Sadr.

"We will not abandon al-Jaafari," said a close aide to the firebrand Shiite cleric. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the dispute.

Reda Jawad Taqi, an al-Hakim aide, said representatives of the largest parliamentary bloc would meet al-Jaafari opponents to "learn what is behind their position. We will not reject their demand (to meet). Everything is negotiable."

The Shiites won 130 of Parliament's 275 seats in December elections, giving them the largest bloc of lawmakers and the first chance to form a government _ but not enough to govern without partners.

After the attack on his vehicle, al-Dulaimi, leader of the largest Sunni parliamentary bloc, called for restraint to blunt the spiraling sectarian violence that has taken about 500 lives since February 22, when a Shiite shrine was bombed in Samarra.

"I don't accuse anyone. ... I consider it accidental, and I call on my brothers for self-restraint and to contain what happened because Iraq is bigger than Adnan and his guards," al-Dulaimi told the AP.

Not long after gunmen hit Adnan al-Dulaimi's convoy Thursday, other attackers shot up cars carrying security men assigned to his fellow Sunni tribesman, Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi. One bodyguard was killed and five were wounded. The attacks on both Sunni heavyweights _ who are not related _ occurred in Ghazaliyah, a dangerous west Baghdad neighborhood.

In an attempt to avert attacks during the Muslim day of prayer, the government announced a one-day ban on private vehicles in Baghdad and its outskirts, effective when the overnight curfew ends Friday morning. The police and army were instructed to seal off the capital and seize any private vehicles on the roads between 6 AM and 4 PM.

The military reported a US soldier was killed during combat in insurgency-ridden Anbar province Wednesday, raising to 2,296 the number of US service members who have died since the war began, according to an Associated Press count.

Elsewhere Thursday, an explosion tore through a vegetable market in a largely Shiite Baghdad neighborhood, killing at least eight people and wounding 14.

In the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City, a minibus exploded, killing at least five people and wounding 10. And in the western Amariyah neighborhood, a roadside bomb detonated near an Interior Ministry patrol, killing one and wounding three.

Police found the bodies of five men shot in and around Baghdad.

Gunmen also attacked a joint police-army checkpoint about 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of Samarra, killing six soldiers and four policemen. The attackers set fire to the bodies before fleeing. Four more policemen were killed by gunmen in the northern city of Mosul.

Near Kirkuk, police found the bullet-riddled bodies of two police trainees, who had been blindfolded, handcuffed and dumped along the road.

Sheik Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al-Samaraie, head of the government's Sunni Endowment, the caretaker of Sunni mosques and religious shrines, took stock of recent sectarian violence at a news conference Thursday, reporting that 45 Sunni preachers and mosque employees had been killed.

He said 37 Sunni mosques were destroyed and 86 damaged by grenade, rocket or gun fire. Six others are in the hands of Shiite militiamen, he said. US military officials put the figures much lower.
 
Another Sunni cleric was gunned down Thursday as he left a mosque after prayers in Basra, in the southern Shiite heartland.

(Chinadaily.com via agencies March 3, 2006)