Sistani representative assassinated
(Baghdad) Unknown assailants have killed Sheikh Kasim al-Gerawi, representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Baghdad. A source close to Sistani said he was shot dead near his house in Baghdad al-Jadida on May 15. An anonymous Iraqi police source said Gerawi and one of his guards were killed at 9 am on May 16. Observers said the killing of Gerawi was designed to incite sectarian conflict and sow disunity. A funeral procession for Gerawi will be held in Najaf.
(Baghdad is a daily newspaper issued by the Iraqi National Accord.)

Insurgent attacks escalate
(Al-Mashriq) Laith Kubba, spokesman for Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, said on May 15 that 400 Iraqis have been killed and hundreds of others have been injured in 70 car bomb attacks since the new cabinet was formed. He said the attacks were designed to terrorise people and make them feel their government is not in control and cannot provide security. The militant groups justify their actions by saying it will pressure foreigners to withdraw from Iraq, but the reverse is true: it will create extra justification for them to stay. As a result, Iraq will become a place of constant violence, said Kubba.
(Al-Mashriq is published daily by Al-Mashriq Institute for Media and Cultural Investment.)

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Counter-insurgency unit to be set up
(Al-Sabah al-Jadeed) A source close to the Iraqi cabinet says that on the prime minister's instructions, high-ranking and specialist officers have been selected to lead a unit formed by the ministries of defence and internal affairs to tackle and eliminate terrorism. The unit has started making setting plans to stop the infiltration of insurgents from abroad, protect key national facilities, and look into the reasons why breaches of security occur. The unit has gathered intelligence about insurgents who have fled from hotbeds of tension to other towns. Thanks to leads provided by members of the public, it was able to arrest insurgents in al-Madain alleged to be the strike force of Abu Musab al-Zarkawi. The unit is asking people to call in on its hotline to report anything unusual.
(Al-Sabah al-Jadeed is an independent daily paper.)

Ramadi governor released
(Addustour) An interior ministry official says armed groups have released the mayor of Ramadi, Rajaa Nawaf, after kidnapping him last week. Relatives of the mayor say he and four of his guards were kidnapped by followers of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on the road to Kaim near the Syrian border, and held them in Ramadi, regarded as a militant stronghold.
(Addustour is an independent daily published by former journalist Basim al-Sheikh.)

Ex-premier Allawi may try to pressure Baathists ahead to next election
(Al-Mutamar) Sources in London with the Iraqi National Accord say the party's leader, former prime minister Ayad Allawi, may travel to Syria to meet former leaders of Saddam Hussein's regime to persuade them to stop supporting insurgent action in Iraq. In return, he would agree not to pursue them if he comes back to power in future elections. On the latter subject, the party source said Allawi has spent the last three weeks meeting political groupings in London to work out his future strategy, and has reached agreement with the head of the Independent Democratic Gathering, Adnan al-Pachachi, that they will form a common election list.
(Al-Mutamar is issued daily by the Iraqi National Congress.)

Rumoured Allawi "withdrawal" from constitution-drafting denied
(Al-Ittihad) National Assembly member Rajaa al-Kuzai has denied news reports that former prime minister Ayad Allawi has withdrawn from the committee set up to draft the constitution, saying Allawi is not actually a member of the body. Kuzai said such reports were circulated to sow disunity in the parliament, especially between the United Iraqi Alliance, the Kurdistan Alliance and Allawi's Iraqi list.
(Al-Ittihad is published daily by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.)

No delay to school exams
(Al-Sabah) The education minister has denied that there will be any delay to the school-leaving exam or baccalaureate as a result of the decision to allow all students to take part whatever their grades. The ministry has done everything needed to allow the exams to take place on schedule, he said.
(Al-Sabah is an independent, publicly owned daily.)