Day after results, Sunnis ready for talks table

Negotiations will begin in the next couple of days, but it may take weeks or even months for a government to be formed.

US, meanwhile, has made it a priority to persuade the winners in the election not to give top posts in the Defence and Interior Ministries to officials linked to armed groups such as the Shi8217;ite Muslim-controlled Badr or Al-Mahdi militias, or the Kurds8217; 8216;8216;peshmerga8217;8217; forces.

Officials fear that such ties once again could alienate Sunni Muslims8212;many of whom are being drawn into the political process8212;sparking violence and slowing efforts to withdraw US forces.

As the parties held discussions a day after the election results giving the Shi8217;ite Islamist Alliance a near-majority, insurgents struck in Baghdad, a car bomb exploded in a market that killed one person.

A motorcade carrying members of President Jalal Talabani8217;s staff was attacked here on Friday. Police said an adviser to the President was among the five people wounded. 8212; Reuters