BAGHDAD (AFP) - Bombers struck in Baghdad killing at least seven Iraqis and casting a pall over preparations for the embattled government to at last take command of its own armed forces.
Meanwhile -- as lawmakers prepared to debate a controversial law which could see the country broken up into rival regions -- gunmen kidnapped the nephew of parliament's hardline Sunni speaker.
The latest violence came as senior Iraqi military officers were finalising an agreement under which a new joint military command will gradually take over control of Iraq's navy, air force and 10 army divisions.
A spokesman for the US-led coalition which has hitherto had oversight over the actions of Iraq's fledgling military, Major General William Caldwell, said the handover was of "gigantic" significance.
"It's the one event that puts the prime minister directly in operational control of his military forces as his role as commander in chief," he said.
Nevertheless, Thursday's signing ceremony was only to mark the beginning of the handover process. The 8th Iraqi Army Division, stationed in Najaf, will come under Iraqi command, with two more divisions added every month afterwards.
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