The 25 members of the interim Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) finished signing an interim constitution for the war-torn country in Baghdad on Monday. 

It was considered a key step toward a planned power handover from the US-led coalition to the Iraqi people on June 30.

Headed by IGC President Mohammad Bahr al-Uloom, the 25 members signed the landmark document one by one, applauded by a gathering including US civil administrator for Iraq Paul Bremer.

"It is a historic moment in the history of Iraq," al-Uloom said at the ceremony.

Kurdish representative in the IGC Massoud Barzani said "there is no doubt that this document will strengthen Iraqi unity in a way never seen before."

He termed the signing of the interim constitution as a "new beginning for Iraq", saying that the declaration of the law was the best response to terrorists.

For his part, IGC member Adnan Pachachi said "Iraqis will have new rights for freedoms, and these rights are universally valued."

The signing of the constitution has been delayed twice, first by coordinated bomb attacks on Shiite shrines Tuesday that killed at least 181 people, and then by a last-minute walkout Friday by IGC Shiite members influenced by Iraq's top Shiite cleric's rejection.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani held reservations about two clauses in the interim charter, one that would give Iraqi Kurds the power to veto a permanent charter and another that would have provided for a single president instead of a rotating leadership.

After two days' consultation, al-Sistani agreed to compromise and keep the document unchanged.

The interim constitution will remain in effect until the end of 2005 after a permanent one is approved.

Just minutes before the ceremony, witnesses said that a large explosion was heard in central Baghdad at about 12:30 in the noon (0930 GMT), and smoke rose near the al-Mansour Hotel, about one or two kilometers from the Convention Center where the ceremony was to take place.

On Sunday, guerrillas fired rockets at a place near the headquarters compound of the US-led coalition authority, or the "Green Zone". No casualties were reported. 

(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2004)