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| Iraq president asks Abadi to succeed PM Nouri Maliki | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Iraq's president has asked the deputy speaker of parliament, Haider al-Abadi, to form a new government. | Iraq's president has asked the deputy speaker of parliament, Haider al-Abadi, to form a new government. |
| Mr Abadi has been nominated prime minister by Shia parties, instead of the incumbent Nouri Maliki. | |
| But Mr Maliki has made it clear he wants to stand for a third term, and pro-Maliki security forces took key sites in Baghdad overnight. | But Mr Maliki has made it clear he wants to stand for a third term, and pro-Maliki security forces took key sites in Baghdad overnight. |
| Meanwhile the jihadist insurgency in the north of Iraq continues to cause international concern. | Meanwhile the jihadist insurgency in the north of Iraq continues to cause international concern. |
| Fighters from the Islamic State (IS) group have made substantial gains in northern Iraq in recent months, forcing tens of thousands of people from religious minorities to flee their homes. | |
| The US has begun supplying weapons to the Kurdish Peshmergas who are fighting the militants, senior US officials have told the Associated Press. | |
| Maliki snubbed | |
| In Baghdad, Iraqi President Fuad Masum said in a TV address that he hoped Mr Abadi would succeed in forming a government that would "protect the Iraqi people". | |
| Analysts say the announcement is a public snub for Mr Maliki, whose State of Law coalition won the most seats in April's elections. | |
| He has been in power as prime minister since 2006, but parliament has never agreed to give him a third term. He has also lost the backing of the US. | |
| Mr Maliki's popularity has suffered from the growing Islamist insurgency in the north - and even before that his support from Sunnis and Kurds was dwindling. | |
| Now he has lost support from his own Shias - with the Shia National Alliance reported to have supported Mr Abadi with 130 votes, compared to just 40 votes for Mr Maliki. | |
| Earlier on Monday, US Secretary of State John Kerry called on Mr Maliki not to increase tensions, and warned against the use of force by political factions. | |
| Analysis: Jim Muir, BBC Middle East correspondent | Analysis: Jim Muir, BBC Middle East correspondent |
| Although he has fought long and hard to hold on to his job as prime minister, it is hard to see how Nouri al-Maliki can continue to cling on. | Although he has fought long and hard to hold on to his job as prime minister, it is hard to see how Nouri al-Maliki can continue to cling on. |
| For the past four years, Mr Maliki has held the defence, interior and intelligence portfolios, building up a powerful network of personal patronage among the security forces, estimated at more than a million strong, as well as setting up elite units directly responsive to him alone. | For the past four years, Mr Maliki has held the defence, interior and intelligence portfolios, building up a powerful network of personal patronage among the security forces, estimated at more than a million strong, as well as setting up elite units directly responsive to him alone. |
| The question now is whether he will try to use the army and police forces to keep himself in power through an in situ coup, despite his lack of political support virtually across the board. | The question now is whether he will try to use the army and police forces to keep himself in power through an in situ coup, despite his lack of political support virtually across the board. |
| His State of Law coalition came out ahead in the April elections, but far short of an outright majority. | His State of Law coalition came out ahead in the April elections, but far short of an outright majority. |
| Having broadly alienated the Kurds and Sunnis, he now finds that even the Shia majority has concluded that he is not the man to weld the country together against the radical Islamist threat. | Having broadly alienated the Kurds and Sunnis, he now finds that even the Shia majority has concluded that he is not the man to weld the country together against the radical Islamist threat. |
| Who is Haider al-Abadi? | |
| Town captured | Town captured |
| The BBC's defence correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the arming of the Peshmerga is a significant shift in US policy. | |
| Until now, Washington has been reluctant to arm the Peshmerga for fear of accelerating a Kurdish break-away from Iraq, our correspondent says. | |
| Washington has made clear that full-scale US support is contingent on new more inclusive governing arrangements in Baghdad. | |
| Reports are emerging in northern Iraq that Islamic State (IS) militants have captured the town of Jalawla, north-east of Baghdad, after weeks of clashes with Kurdish fighters. | Reports are emerging in northern Iraq that Islamic State (IS) militants have captured the town of Jalawla, north-east of Baghdad, after weeks of clashes with Kurdish fighters. |
| On Sunday, Kurdish forces said they had regained the towns of Gwer and Makhmur from the militants, helped by recent US air strikes in Nineveh province. | On Sunday, Kurdish forces said they had regained the towns of Gwer and Makhmur from the militants, helped by recent US air strikes in Nineveh province. |
| The US has already launched four rounds of air strikes targeting the militants near Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. | The US has already launched four rounds of air strikes targeting the militants near Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. |
| In western Iraq, minority religious groups, such as the Yazidis, have been forced from their homes, prompting international aid drops. | In western Iraq, minority religious groups, such as the Yazidis, have been forced from their homes, prompting international aid drops. |
| Witnesses told the BBC that thousands of refugees near Sinjar had escaped to safer areas. | Witnesses told the BBC that thousands of refugees near Sinjar had escaped to safer areas. |
| The US air strikes have been the first direct American involvement in a military operation in Iraq since the US withdrawal from the country in late 2011. | The US air strikes have been the first direct American involvement in a military operation in Iraq since the US withdrawal from the country in late 2011. |
| US President Barack Obama authorised the strikes last week after members of the Yazidi sect were forced to flee Sinjar into the surrounding mountains. | US President Barack Obama authorised the strikes last week after members of the Yazidi sect were forced to flee Sinjar into the surrounding mountains. |