Iraqi parliament speaker offers to resign: Lawmaker

The Iraqi parliament's Sunni speaker has said he will resign under certain conditions, a lawmaker said yesterday, which could resolve a political impasse that has stalled a decision on whether to allow non-US troops to stay beyond December.

Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani said that in return for his resignation he wants to be named head of a human-rights association, Shiite lawmaker Reda Jawad Taqi said. The speaker also wants a guarantee that his post would be filled by someone from a party other than Mashhadani's own Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, with whom he is also feuding, Taqi said.

The post is usually held by a Sunni and there are a number of Sunni parties in parliament