IRAQ Tribal chief who aided U.S. killed in ambush

The leader had a deal to help security forces track down al-Qaida members.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A tribal chief who challenged Iraq's most feared terrorist and sent fighters to help U.S. troops battle al-Qaida in western Iraq died in a hail of bullets Sunday -- the latest victim of an apparent insurgent campaign against Sunni Arabs who work with Americans.
The prime minister, meanwhile, was frustrated again in trying to fill key security posts, and his spokesman hinted at a deadline if the impasse continued. Nouri al-Maliki is trying to get Shiite and Sunni politicians to agree on candidates who are independent and not tied to sectarian militias.
Shootings and bombings killed nine people and wounded 35 across the country Sunday, and the bodies of at least 10 more people were found in Baghdad, possible victims of the sectarian bloodshed tearing at Iraq.
The most significant killing involved Sheik Osama al-Jadaan, who was ambushed by gunmen as he was being driven in Baghdad's Mansour district, a predominantly Sunni Arab area. Al-Jadaan's driver and one of his bodyguards also were killed, police Lt. Maitham Abdul Razzaq said.
Agreement with government
Al-Jadaan was a leader of the Karabila tribe, which has thousands of members in Anbar province, an insurgent hotbed stretching from west of Baghdad to the Syrian border. He had announced an agreement with the U.S.-backed Iraqi government to help security forces track down al-Qaida members and foreign fighters.
U.S. troops also raised a scout force from al-Jadaan's followers known as the "Desert Protectors" to help find insurgents living under the protection of a rival tribe in Qaim and a cluster of nearby towns in Anbar. U.S. officials described the area as a staging ground for smuggling weapons, ammunition and fighters into Iraq.
Al-Jadaan claimed in March that his people had captured hundreds of foreign fighters and handed them over to authorities. He also issued a warning to al-Qaida in Iraq's leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is blamed for many of the country's worst terror bombings.
The sectarian divisions have proved a daunting problem for Iraq's politicians.
In an indication of the problem, legislators apparently held a stormy closed-door session Sunday arguing over parliament's Sunni Arab speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani.
The Shiite and Kurdish coalitions want parliamentary rules changed to require al-Mashhadani to consult with his Shiite and Kurdish deputy speakers before making any decisions, even though his post has little real power. Sunnis staunchly opposed the demand.