Iraq's interim national assembly was sworn-in today (Wednesday) against a backdrop of violence.
The 100-member assembly, which represents the country's ethnic and religious diversity, will oversee the government until elections in January.
Shortly before the assembly met, several mortars exploded nearby, killing one Iraqi civilian.
Former Pentagon ally, Ahmed Chalabi, said he escaped an assassination attempt on his way to the meeting, when gunmen fired on his convoy, injuring two bodyguards.
Meanwhile, talks between the government and Moqtada al-Sadr's militia to end fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City slum have stalled, because the government has refused militant demands for American troops to stay out of the troubled neighborhood.
And in the northern city of Mosul, an Iraqi was killed and at least 11 others wounded in a mortar attack on a government building.
Information for this report is provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.