The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Baghdad

Iraq's foreign minister says negotiators are "on the brink" of reaching a long-term security pact with the United States that will decide the fate of American troops in Iraq.

Hoshyar Zebari says the Iraqis are insisting on the inclusion of a "clear timeline" for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces. But he has refused to give any dates. Zebari told journalists on Sunday that the main sticking points have been over the authorization of military operations and sovereignty issues. But he's optimistic that both sides "are compromising on all these issues." U.S. acceptance - even tentatively - of a specific timeline would represent a dramatic reversal of American policy in place since the war began in March 2003.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BAGHDAD (AP) - A series of bombs struck Iraqi security forces and commuters in the Baghdad area on Sunday, killing at least seven people and wounding 25 others, police said.

The deadliest blast occurred about 8:15 a.m. in a crowded area where people wait for buses in the mainly Shiite southeastern district of Kamaliya in Baghdad, police officials said.

Four people were killed, including a woman and her brother, and 11 others wounded in that attack, according to the officials. A car bomb later exploded as an Iraqi army patrol passed by in Baghdad's central Khillani square, killing a soldier and a civilian and wounding nine other people, a police officer said.

The targeted patrol was guarding a van carrying money to the nearby state-run Industrial Bank when the blast occurred, the officer said.

Another Iraqi army patrol was hit by a car bomb in Salman Pak, about 15 miles south of the capital, killing one soldier and wounding five others, police said.

Two other Iraqi soldiers and three civilians were wounded by a roadside bomb that exploded near a telephone exchange elsewhere in eastern Baghdad, police said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.

Baghdad and surrounding areas have seen a sharp decline in violence over the past year, but sporadic attacks continue to kill and injure Iraqi civilians.

Northeast of the capital, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden car near the Kurdish security department in downtown Khanaqin, which is in Diyala province and close to the Iranian border.

Provincial council chief Ibrahim Majilan and police officials said at least 22 people were wounded in the blast.

In a move to bolster public confidence in recent security gains, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other senior Iraqi politicians held an inauguration ceremony for a new parliament building located outside the U.S.-protected Green Zone.

The 275-member legislative body, which has recessed until Sept. 9, has met in a heavily guarded convention center inside the sprawling maze of concrete barriers and checkpoints in central Baghdad.

Officials said the next session will be held in the renovated Saddam Hussein-era parliamentary building, which also has been heavily barricaded by concrete walls and sits a few hundred yards from the Green Zone.

"Iraqis are combating terrorism with one hand and building a democratic state with the other, and this is not an easy job," al-Maliki said during an address broadcast live on Iraqi state TV.

He also appealed for more foreign assistance in rebuilding efforts.

"We have carried messages to all the countries we visited that Iraq is in need of reconstruction in all fields, including railways, oil, electricity, bridges and housing," he said.