June 12, 2007	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 26, 1428

BAGHDAD, June 11: Parliament voted on Monday in a closed session to remove the speaker after a series of scandals involving the controversial lawmaker, legislators said. Mahmoud al-Mashhadani would be replaced by another Sunni Arab, they said.

Many of the house’s 275 legislators viewed his behaviour as unbecoming and, on occasion, erratic.

The US military, meanwhile, said three American soldiers guarding a vital bridge over one of Baghdad’s main highways were killed when a suicide bomber detonated his truck next to a support pillar and the span collapsed into shattered concrete.

Bulldozers and other heavy equipment struggled on Monday to clear the road – the Iraqi capital’s main north-south artery. An Iraqi interpreter also was wounded in the attack on Sunday 10 kilometers east of Mahmoudiya, according to the statement that gave the casualty toll.

US armoured vehicles provided cover fire from their cannons after the bombing, which occurred in the area dubbed the “triangle of death” for its frequent Sunni insurgent attacks.

Drivers coming from both directions were told to turn back while the US forces worked, causing traffic jams for much of the morning until the word spread to avoid the route.

Manhal Adil, a 42-year-old driver of a minibus that taxis passengers between Baghdad and Samawah, a Euphrates River city about 370 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, said he had to take a dangerous detour.

“This highway closure has affected my work negatively. Now, we are forced to take the old road, which is dangerous and full of police checkpoints that consume our time,” he said.

At least 11 Iraqis were killed in attacks elsewhere on Monday, according to police officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution.

Those included a roadside bombing against a police patrol in the northern Sunni city of Samarra that killed two commandos and wounded three. AP Television News footage showed youths cheering and stomping on bloodstains on the road while fires burned inside the charred vehicles.

US Maj-Gen Rick Lynch, whose forces control the area of the bombing, spoke at length about US efforts to draw Sunnis into the security forces.

“There are tribal sheiks out there who say ‘Hey, just allow me to be the local security force. I don’t care what you call me. ... You can call me whatever you want. Just give me the right training and equipment and I’ll secure my area.’ And that’s the direction we’re moving out there,” the Third Infantry Division commander said on Sunday in a meeting with reporters.Lynch said contacts with the Sunnis, who make up the bulk of the insurgency, were a matter of pragmatism.

“What’s the long term effect of arming members of the Sunni population? ... What I’ve seen over time is the Sunni population saying ‘enough, we’ve had enough of these attacks’ ... As a result you see them wanting to arm themselves so they can protect the population mostly against Al Qaeda,” he said. “So, we’ve got to reach out to them.”

In Baghdad, Britain’s next prime minister met with Iraqi leaders in a surprise visit following promises to study his country’s participation in the conflict as it faces growing opposition at home. Treasury chief Gordon Brown, who is to succeed Tony Blair later this month, was on a one-day fact-finding mission, British officials said.

Al-Mashhadani's behaviour repeatedly has embarrassed the Sunni Arab partners in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s coalition government. Many of the house’s 275 legislators viewed his behaviour as unbecoming and, on occasion, erratic.

Three lawmakers said the Iraqi Accordance Front, parliament’s largest Sunni Arab bloc with 44 of the house’s 275 seats, has pledged to offer a replacement for al-Mashhadani within a week. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

Al-Mashhadani, a former physician and an Islamist, is a member of the Accordance Front and will retain his seat in parliament, according to the decision. He did not attend Monday’s session, which was chaired by his deputy, Shia Khaled al-Attiyah.

The speaker has been in trouble for sometime.—AP