Iraqi lawmakers approved defence and interior ministers on Saturday, filling the key posts after weeks of delay as security forces battle jihadist militants who hold swathes of the country.
The international community hopes the government of Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi will unite divided Iraq, whose forces are struggling to regain ground from the Islamic State (IS) group despite US-led air strikes.
Baghdad has been rocked by car bombs that have left dozens dead, although Washington insists the capital is not in danger of falling to the jihadists, who would have to make significant advances to even try to seize the city.
Khaled al-Obaidi, a Sunni who was named defence minister, was a senior officer in the air force of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein who specialised in engineering.
He hails from Mosul in the north -- the first city to fall to militants led by IS who launched an offensive in June that overran much of the country's Sunni Arab heartland.
Gaining some level of support from Iraq's Sunni Arab minority -- many members of which are deeply mistrustful of the Shiite-led government and view the armed forces as an instrument of repression -- will be key to pushing IS back.
The new interior minister, Mohammed al-Ghabban, is a member of the Shiite bloc Badr.
His selection puts the interior ministry, which is responsible for the vast majority of the country's security forces, under the effective control of Hadi al-Ameri, the commander of the affiliated Badr militia.
The Iran-backed militia -- now one of the main Shiite groups fighting IS -- was involved in Iraq's Sunni-Shiite sectarian conflict, which peaked in 2006-2007 and left tens of thousands dead.
The appointments mark the first time in more than four years that the two positions have not been held by acting ministers.
MPs on Saturday also signed off on a deputy premier, five other ministers and a minister of state.
- Government delayed -
MPs approved the majority of the cabinet on September 8, ushering in Abadi's term as prime minister, but he asked for another week to fill posts including the security ministries.
Abadi's original candidates were then voted down by MPs, leaving the key positions unfilled.
However, even the late approval of the security ministers is a step up from Iraq's last government, in which posts were filled on an interim basis for premier Nuri al-Maliki's entire second term.
Abadi faced major international pressure, especially from the United States, to form an inclusive government that could unite Iraq's sharply-divided religious and ethnic communities.
The current cabinet makeup is not a major departure in terms of sectarian or ethnic composition from the one that preceded it, and the policies that the government pursues will determine whether Iraq makes progress on reconciliation.
Jihadist gains in recent weeks in the vast province of Anbar, west of Baghdad, prompted some officials to warn that the entire region could fall.
An estimated 1.8 million Iraqis have been displaced by violence since the beginning of the year, while the country also faces other enormous challenges ranging from woefully lacking basic services to widespread corruption.
The IS militants have been kept from reaching Baghdad in force and would face major challenges if they tried to occupy part of the city, but they are able to carry out deadly bombings with impunity.
At least 23 people were killed when car bombs exploded in three crowded areas of the Iraqi capital Friday.
Iraqi lawmakers approved defence and interior ministers on Saturday, filling the key posts after weeks of delay as security forces battle jihadist militants who hold swathes of the country.
The international community hopes the government of Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi will unite divided Iraq, whose forces are struggling to regain ground from the Islamic State (IS) group despite US-led air strikes.
Baghdad has been rocked by car bombs that have left dozens dead, although Washington insists the capital is not in danger of falling to the jihadists, who would have to make significant advances to even try to seize the city.
Khaled al-Obaidi, a Sunni who was named defence minister, was a senior officer in the air force of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein who specialised in engineering.
He hails from Mosul in the north — the first city to fall to militants led by IS who launched an offensive in June that overran much of the country’s Sunni Arab heartland.
Gaining some level of support from Iraq’s Sunni Arab minority — many members of which are deeply mistrustful of the Shiite-led government and view the armed forces as an instrument of repression — will be key to pushing IS back.
The new interior minister, Mohammed al-Ghabban, is a member of the Shiite bloc Badr.
His selection puts the interior ministry, which is responsible for the vast majority of the country’s security forces, under the effective control of Hadi al-Ameri, the commander of the affiliated Badr militia.
The Iran-backed militia — now one of the main Shiite groups fighting IS — was involved in Iraq’s Sunni-Shiite sectarian conflict, which peaked in 2006-2007 and left tens of thousands dead.
The appointments mark the first time in more than four years that the two positions have not been held by acting ministers.
MPs on Saturday also signed off on a deputy premier, five other ministers and a minister of state.
– Government delayed –
MPs approved the majority of the cabinet on September 8, ushering in Abadi’s term as prime minister, but he asked for another week to fill posts including the security ministries.
Abadi’s original candidates were then voted down by MPs, leaving the key positions unfilled.
However, even the late approval of the security ministers is a step up from Iraq’s last government, in which posts were filled on an interim basis for premier Nuri al-Maliki’s entire second term.
Abadi faced major international pressure, especially from the United States, to form an inclusive government that could unite Iraq’s sharply-divided religious and ethnic communities.
The current cabinet makeup is not a major departure in terms of sectarian or ethnic composition from the one that preceded it, and the policies that the government pursues will determine whether Iraq makes progress on reconciliation.
Jihadist gains in recent weeks in the vast province of Anbar, west of Baghdad, prompted some officials to warn that the entire region could fall.
An estimated 1.8 million Iraqis have been displaced by violence since the beginning of the year, while the country also faces other enormous challenges ranging from woefully lacking basic services to widespread corruption.
The IS militants have been kept from reaching Baghdad in force and would face major challenges if they tried to occupy part of the city, but they are able to carry out deadly bombings with impunity.
At least 23 people were killed when car bombs exploded in three crowded areas of the Iraqi capital Friday.
