Iraq crisis: Parliament swears in unity government

The new government will be led by Haidar al-Abadi, a moderate Shia politician

Iraq's parliament has approved a new government with Sunni and Kurdish deputy prime ministers, as it seeks to tackle Islamic State (IS) militants who have seized large parts of the country.

Saleh al-Mutlak and Hoshyar Zebari were approved under a power-sharing deal after weeks of political deadlock.

PM Haidar al-Abadi, a moderate Shia, was asked to form a government with the resignation of Nouri Maliki.

However, the interior and defence minister positions were not agreed.

Mr Abadi has pledged to fill the positions within a week.

His predecessor was forced to resign in August, as the Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities accused his administration of pursuing sectarian policies.

The US had urged Iraq to form an inclusive government with Sunni representation, describing this as a condition for further military support against IS.

'Last minute brinkmanship'

Many Sunni rebels were to Islamic State's ranks as it seized large swathes of Iraq, capitalising on growing tension between the Sunni minority and the Shia-led government.

However, many have since indicated that they would be ready to turn against IS if Sunni rights were enshrined in a reformed political order in Baghdad.

There was a constitutional deadline for the new Iraqi government to be formed, and the haggling and brinkmanship had gone up to the last minute, the BBC's Jim Muir reports from Irbil.

Adel Abdul Mahdi from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq was appointed oil minister, while former PM Ibrahim Jaafari was named foreign minister.

Mr Maliki, another former prime minister, Ayad Allawi, and former parliamentary speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, were given the ceremonial positions of vice presidents.