Baghdad, Iraq – A spokesman for the biggest Shiite party predicted Thursday a breakthrough on the constitution within the next two days, as negotiators scrambled to finish the draft by next week’s deadline.
Meanwhile, a roadside bomb killed four more U.S. soldiers.
The four died in a bombing in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. No further details were released.
Four days before the deadline, Sunni Arab members of the drafting committee met with Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to present their objections to federalism and other issues blocking an agreement.
Afterward, leaders of the factions – Shiites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds – conferred late into Thursday night at the home of Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi in the heavily fortified Green Zone.
No statement was issued, but representatives of all three factions spoke optimistically about finishing by the new deadline.
Parliament voted unanimously Monday to extend the deadline by one week after negotiations deadlocked over a number of issues including federalism, Kurdish demands for the right to secede, distribution of oil wealth and the role of Islam.
The interim constitution states that the legislature must dissolve if the negotiators cannot finish their work by the new deadline.
But Haitham al-Husseini, a spokesman for the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, said he expected a breakthrough within 48 hours, adding that “the work is being done in an inclusive way to overcome the points of disagreements.”
Similar optimism was expressed publicly last week before the negotiators had to admit they were deadlocked.
However, Sunni and Kurdish officials also seemed upbeat.
“I expect that the constitution would be finished before Monday,” Sunni negotiator Saleh al-Mutlaq said. “Negotiations are still underway and everybody is determined to finish it before the deadline.”
He said American and British officials were pressing the Sunnis to compromise on issues.
“Americans are more concerned about … deadlines rather than the contents of the constitution,” al-Mutlaq said.
However, the Shiites and Kurds again pointed to the Sunnis as the main holdouts because of their opposition to transforming Iraq into a federated state, which they fear would lead to the breakup of the nation.
The Sunni Arabs would likely gain strength in parliament if the legislature were forced to dissolve over the constitution issue because many of them boycotted the January election and Sunni candidates fared poorly.
Sunnis have signaled they would participate in a new election.
