Iraq Violence Kills at Least 41 People

An Iraqi man mourns sitting next to the body of his relative, killed in a drive by shooting, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday Sept.18, 2006. Bombers and gunmen killed eight people in the tense city north east of Baghdad Monday as Iraqi security forces prepared to further tighten security ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, when violence traditionally spikes across Iraq. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) (Hadi Mizban - AP)

The head of the largest Sunni Arab alliance, Adnan al-Dulaimi, said the faction leaders would meet again to discuss the issue Tuesday, but said the bill would not be debated until a later _ as yet unspecified _ date.

The legislation calls for setting up a system to allow creation of autonomous regions in the predominantly Shiite south much like the self-ruling Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Sunni Arabs fear that would split Iraq apart and fuel sectarian bloodshed.

The Kurdish north and Shiite south hold Iraq's oil fields, while the predominantly Sunni Arab areas don't have any.

Sunni Arabs say that before autonomy legislation can be passed, parliament must name a committee to amend the constitution _ a key demand they made when they agreed to join Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government. One of the amendments they seek would weaken the ability to set up self-ruling cantons.

Al-Dulaimi, as well as Shiite and Kurdish lawmakers, said the Kurds had proposed setting up the committee simultaneously with submitting the draft bill for debate sometime in the future.

Monday's violence came as the government prepared to announce new security measures for Baghdad ahead of Ramadan, which is expected to start Sept. 24.

Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari told the AP the measures would be adopted two or three days before the holy month begins to "protect citizens from terrorists attacks."

The Iraqi army's 4th Division also came under Iraqi control in central Salahuddin province Monday, the government said.

It was the second of Iraq's 10 divisions to be put under direct Iraqi control since Sept. 7, when coalition forces handed over control of Iraq's armed forces command to the government.

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Associated Press writers Sinan Salaheddin and Patrick Quinn in Baghdad and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.