BAGHDAD, April 27: Iraqi Prime minister-designate Ibrahim Jaafari announced on Wednesday he had formed a cabinet, more than 12 weeks after watershed elections, as suspected insurgents shot dead a woman MP in the first such assassination since the vote. The proposed cabinet “will be submitted to the presidential council, which will in turn submit it to parliament” for approval, Mr Jaafari told a news briefing.

He did not name those on the list, saying only that they included “at least seven women” and that the Sunni minority would get the defence portfolio.

The United Iraqi Alliance and the Kurdish coalition have been keen to include representatives of the Sunnis to broaden the appeal of the government.—AFP