Baghdad - Iraq's President Jalal Talabani denounced Wednesday the passing of the key provincial election law by the Iraqi parliament as unconstitutional, and said he would not ratify it.

Talabani said the law would deepen sectarian and nationalistic tendencies, according to a statement released by his office. He criticized the fact that the vote involved an "unprecedented" secret ballot.

Iraq's parliament passed the key law on Tuesday despite a walkout by Kurdish members of parliament to protest a secret ballot on a provision related to the multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk.

Baghdad  - The Iraqi parliament Tuesday ratified a key provincial election bill despite a walkout by members of the Kurdish Alliance bloc, local media reported.

Parliament also decided to delay a contentious provincial election in the oil-rich northern province of Tamim and its ethnically mixed capital Kirkuk.

A walkout by lawmakers from the Kurdish Alliance with a fifth of parliament's 275 seats delayed voting on the bill, which governs provincial council polls slated to be held in Iraq this autumn.

Baghdad - Armed men blew up the house of Iraqi lawmaker Mithal al-Alusy in west Baghdad Monday, nearly four years after one of several assassination attempts on his life resulted in the death of his two sons.

There were no fatalities in the explosion, since the house was empty at the time, but it was extensively damaged, security sources said.

The Sunni Muslim lawmaker is a secular politician who leads the Iraqi Nation Party.

He courted controversy when he visited Israel in 2004 while a member of the then interim Governing Council.

Baghdad  - Iraq's main Sunni political bloc returned on Saturday to the Shiite