Baghdad - Iraqi lawmakers welcomed on Monday the election of a new speaker of parliament, Iyad al-Samarrai, ending months of political impasse over the position.

Al-Sammarai, a member of the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, won election to the post with 153 of 232 votes cast on Sunday.

The assembly had been paralyzed since al-Samarrai's predecessor Mahmud al-Mashhadani resigned in December, thwarting important legislation including the country's new oil and gas law.

Baghdad  - Iyad al-Samarraie was elected on Sunday as the new speaker of Iraqi parliament after months of wrangling among the country's Sunni parties to fill the position.

Al-Samarraie, an outspoken opponent of Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki from the Iraqi Islamic Party, gained 154 votes out of the 232 deputies present on Sunday, a lawmaker told the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency.

Baghdad  - At least five people died Friday in a round of mortar attacks, as incidents targeting Shiite-dominated districts in Baghdad increased.

The total number of victims was not confirmed, but a source in the Interior Ministry said the attacks killed at least five people and wounded 12.

Witnesses told dpa, the German news agency, that the mortar rounds, which struck Jisr Diyala district - an impoverished neighbourhood in southern Baghdad, killed seven people and wounded 18.

Baghdad

Baghdad  - Iraq's Defence Ministry said on Thursday that 17 were injured when suicide bomber blew himself up at a military base in western Iraq, contradicting earlier reports that 16 were killed.

It was reported earlier that the bomber blew himself up inside a restaurant in al-Habania military base in Anbar province, killing 16 and injuring more than 50.

The defence ministry statement said there were no fatalities.

The attack took place at lunchtime when officers and soldiers were eating in a big dining hall, the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency reported.