Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi attended on Wednesday the funeral ceremony of one of his top bodyguards, who was killed in clashes with the Shiite militia of Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades) earlier on Tuesday.

In a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Alghad Press, the Iraqi defense ministry said, “Brig. Gen. Sherif Ismail el-Morshedy, the commander of the 57th brigade of Abadi’s protection service, breathed his last while on duty after undisciplined personnel shot him dead near a central checkpoint in Samarra.”

Abadi offered condolences to the martyr’s family and ordered a probe to be opened into his death.

He also praised sacrifices made by the late commander in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group.

According to the statement, the funeral ceremony was held at the defense ministry’s headquarters in the presence of Defense Minister Erfan al-Hiyali.

Commenting on the incident, Saraya al-Salam blamed Abadi’s guards for the death of Morshedy after they attacked its personnel deployed at a security checkpoint between Samarra and Tikrit in Salahuddin.

In December, Muqtada al-Sadr, the head of the Sadrist Movement, announced disbanding Saraya al-Salam brigade, urging the members to evacuate its headquarters and turn in their weapons to the government.

The brigade took part in the summer of 2014 in the liberation of Salahuddin and Samarra from Islamic State militants. </s> Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced on Sunday "victory" over Islamic State in the city of Mosul, his office said.

"The commander in chief of the armed forces (Prime Minister) Haider al-Abadi arrived in the liberated city of Mosul and congratulated the heroic fighters and the Iraqi people for the great victory," said a statement from his office. </s> (IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – General Commander of Iraqi Armed forces and Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, announced on Monday launching the battle to liberate Mosul from the ISIS grip, and pointed out that the security forces that will participate in the battle are Iraqi army, police and national police.

Prime Minister Haider Abadi said in a speech on state TV, “I announce today the start of the heroic operations to free you from the terror and the oppression of Daesh (ISIS).”

“We will meet soon on the ground of Mosul to celebrate liberation and your salvation,” Abadi added.

Abadi also called the people of Mosul to cooperate with the security forces, and emphasized that the battle will be handled by the Iraqi army and national police only.

Nearly 65,000 military personnel including Iraqi soldiers, Kurdish Peshmerga militia and Sunni tribal fighters were expected to participate in the offensive to liberate the city of more than 5,000 ISIS militants. </s> Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose political bloc came third in a May parliamentary election, met on Saturday with cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose bloc came first, in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, Abadi's office said.

BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose political bloc came third in a May parliamentary election, met on Saturday with cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose bloc came first, in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, Abadi's office said.

It was the first meeting between the pair since Sadr and second-placed Hadi al-Amiri, a Shi'ite militia commander and Iran ally, announced an alliance between their blocs.

Political leaders in Iraq traditionally hold such meetings after elections as part of the lengthy and often complicated process of forming a coalition government, as no one party ever wins enough seats to form a government on its own. </s> Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulated Iraqi army over their victory in Mosul. (AFP Photo) </s> Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) Iraq's newly elected president has appointed a 76-year-old economist and veteran Shiite politician as the country's new prime minister-designate, ending months of political uncertainty following elections in May.

Shortly after Iraqi lawmakers elected Kurdish politician Barham Salih as president on Tuesday, he appointed Adil Abd al-Mahdi as the country's next prime minister.

The Iraqi president's role is largely ceremonial, with the prime minister holding most powers. The appointments end months of political wrangling, following a disputed parliamentary election earlier this year.

The new prime minister had previously served as vice president, finance minister and oil minister under outgoing prime minister Haider al-Abadi.

Al-Mahdi now has 30 days to form a cabinet and present it to parliament for approval.

Read More </s> Protests by supporters of a powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric turned deadly Saturday in Baghdad.

A police officer was killed and seven others wounded during clashes between supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr and security forces, Baghdad’s security operations command said Saturday.

The cleric has called for the reform of Iraq’s election commission, and demonstrators had gathered in support of him.

Video of the rally shows police firing tear gas at the protesters.

The rally reached outside the fortified Green Zone, an area housing government buildings and foreign embassies.

Later Saturday, rockets fired from eastern Baghdad landed inside the Green Zone, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command Center said, but it’s unclear if that incident was related to the protests. There were no reports of casualties in the rocket firing.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered an investigation into the clashes. </s> Supporters of powerful leader Muqtada al-Sadr are demanding that the electoral commission be reformed.

Iraqi security forces fired tear gas and rubber-coated bullets at thousands of supporters of an influential Shia leader demonstrating near Baghdad's Green Zone to press for electoral reform.

One police officer was killed during Saturday's protests, according to police and hospital officials who said seven other policemen were injured along with dozens of protesters.

The Associated Press news agency quoted hospital officials as saying that the officer died of a bullet wound.

Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia leader, accused the elections commission of being corrupt and called for the commission's members to be changed, according to a statement from his office.

Rising to his call to protest, demonstrators had gathered near the Green Zone - a cluster of embassies and government buildings - to demand an overhaul of the commission that supervises elections before a provincial vote due in September.

Riot police fired tear gas when the crowd tried to move towards the zone, which also houses international organisations and the homes of prominent politicians.

Shots rang out in central Baghdad as security forces used live fire and tear gas to disperse the crowds.

"We will not give in to threats," said the head of the electoral commission, Serbat Mustafa, in an interview with a local Iraqi television channel Saturday afternoon.

Mustafa said he would not offer his resignation and accused Sadr of using the commission as a political "scapegoat."

Sadr has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and last year protests that included many of his followers breached the highly fortified Green Zone twice.

An Associated Press news agency team at the scene witnessed ambulances rushing away protesters suffering from breathing difficulties.

The protest organisers said about two dozen demonstrators had choked on the gas.

Live TV footage showed young men running away as white smoke filled Tahrir Square in downtown Baghdad.

Sadr's supporters stormed the Green Zone last year after violent clashes with security forces.

Sadr suspects that members of the electoral commission are loyal to his Shia rival, Nouri al-Maliki, former prime minister, one of the closest allies of Iran in Iraq.

Prime Minister Abadi called on the demonstrators to remain peaceful and to "abide by the law". </s> Baghdad: Iraq's outgoing Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, a US ally, and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a longtime foe of the United States, said on Saturday they had become political allies in an effort to form a new government in the wake of widely discredited elections.

The announcement, made in the Shiite holy city of Najaf in a meeting between the two leaders, came as a surprise to many political observers, especially because al-Sadr — the top vote-getter — had announced an alliance with a pro-Iranian Shiite leader, Hadi al-Amiri. Al-Amiri was second in the polls, while al-Abadi was third.

"This is a call for an alliance that is non-sectarian and rejects ethnic politics in order to include all of the Iraqi people," al-Sadr said at a joint news conference with al-Abadi, who is still the prime minister until the new parliament sits on July 1 and elects his replacement.

"We want to speed up the process of coming to a political agreement to send a positive message to the citizens that we are serious about moving forward," al-Abadi said.

Once a wanted man by US authorities during the occupation of Iraq, al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric and former militia leader, has remained a critic of the Americans while at the same time distancing himself from Iran and presenting himself as a nonsectarian figure. Despite al-Sadr's fiery anti-American rhetoric of the past, he has been quiet on that front since the election and in his speech in Najaf on Friday refrained from criticising the United States.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi attends the funeral of bodyguard Brigadier General Sherif Ismail el-Morshedy, killed in action in Nineveh against Saraya al-Salam.