Iraq's first democratically elected government takes office

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari pledged to unite Iraq's rival ethnic and religious factions and fight terrorism as the nation's first democratically elected government was sworn in Tuesday amid escalating violence.

"You all know the heavy legacy inherited by this government. We are afflicted by corruption, lack of services, unemployment and mass graves," al-Jaafari told lawmakers after taking the oath of office before the National Assembly. "I would like to tell the widows and orphans ... your sacrifices have not gone in vain."

One by one, al-Jaafari and members of his Cabinet walked to a podium and pledged to defend Iraq and its people as Iraqis faced a surge of violence that has killed nearly 170 people in six days.

But five ministries -- including the key defense and oil portfolios -- remained in temporary hands and two deputy prime minister's slots were unfilled as al-Jaafari struggled to bring the disaffected Sunni minority into key posts while balancing the demands of other groups.

Al-Jaafari particularly wanted the defense minister's job filled by a Sunni Arab as a way to draw the formerly dominant minority into the fight against an insurgency that is thought to be based primarily among Sunnis.

He will act as defense minister until consensus can be reached on a new one. Former Pentagon favorite Ahmad Chalabi, the Shiite deputy prime minister, was given temporary responsibility for the key oil ministry.

Violence was unabated Tuesday, including a gunbattle in Ramadi that killed 12 suspected militants and three other people.

Meanwhile, investigators concluded two missing Marine fighter jets likely collided over southern Iraq as the body of one pilot was found, a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday at the Pentagon. U.S. officials in Baghdad said the search for the planes was continuing.

Separately, the American military said U.S.-led forces recovered a letter that appeared to be addressed to Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi complaining about low morale among his followers and the incompetence of leaders in his terror network.

Al-Jaafari had promised to form a government that would win over the Sunnis, but members of his Shiite-dominated alliance rejected candidates with ties to Saddam Hussein's brutal regime.

After months of wrangling following historic Jan. 30 elections, al-Jaafari negotiated a Cabinet that includes 15 Shiite Arab ministers, seven Kurds, four Sunnis and one Christian. Two of four deputy prime ministers were also sworn in Tuesday, a Shiite and a Kurd.

President Jalal Talabani wished the new Cabinet well in its historic task: "To achieve a unified democratic Iraq."

Underscoring lingering divisions, however, many lawmakers stayed away from the ceremony, which took place in a half-empty hall inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.

The new government will hold it's first meeting within days, al- Jaafari said.

The al-Zarqawi letter was seized during a raid in Baghdad on Thursday that also yielded an undated document listing targeting information and sketch maps for kidnappings and bombings, the U.S. military said in a statement.

The military said it was written by Abu Asim al-Qusaymi al- Yemeni, whom they identified as a member of Al-Qaida in the Land Between the Two Rivers, one of the former names used by al- Zarqawi's Al-Qaida in Iraq terror group.

The letter, dated April 27, was addressed to "the sheik," a title used by al-Zarqawi's followers to refer to their leader, the military said.

The military has claimed similar finds in the past. In February last year, the military released a letter it said was written by al- Zarqawi complaining that if insurgents failed to prevent the handover of sovereignty, "then there will be no choice but to pack our bags." Postings on Web sites known for their militant content questioned the document's authenticity.

Near the Syrian border on Monday, coalition forces tracked down and confronted suspected members of al-Qaida in Iraq, the U.S. military said. The fighting, which included a U.S. airstrike, killed 12 militants and injured a 6-year-old girl, the military said. Six coalition soldiers also were wounded, it said, without specifying their nationalities.

At least 35 other Iraqis were killed Monday, including eight soldiers cut down by a suicide attacker who blew up a truck at a checkpoint south of the capital and six civilians caught in a car bombing that set fire to a Baghdad apartment building. An American and a British soldier were killed in separate roadside bombings.

On Tuesday, insurgents attacked a checkpoint in Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, and 12 militants, an Iraqi soldier and two Iraqi civilians died in the fighting, the U.S. military said. Two Marines were slightly injured, the military said, adding the fighting also wounded four insurgents and two Iraqi soldiers. Five militants were captured, the statement said.

In Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, unidentified gunmen killed three Iraqi policemen in three separate attacks, police 1st Lt. Qassim Mohammed said.

Three roadside bombs targeted police patrols in western Baghdad, injuring four officers, police Maj. Musa Abdul Karim said.

In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a statement strongly condemning the "cruel and heartless" violence apparently aimed at undermining Iraq's newly formed government.

The attacks are blamed on an insurgency believed largely made up of members of Iraq's Sunni minority, who dominated for decades under Saddam Hussein but were excluded from meaningful positions in a partial Cabinet that took office Thursday.

An aide to Al-Jaafari, Laith Kuba, said earlier the prime minister picked six people to temporarily fill the seven vacant Cabinet positions. He said the names were discussed names with Talabani and his two vice presidents, who must sign off on them before they are submitted to parliament for a vote.

On Sunday, Kurdish factions agreed to give up one of their ministries to meet the Sunnis' demands, said Azad Junduiani, spokesman for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of two main Kurdish parties.

But an official from the same party, Fouad Massoum, disputed that. He said Kurdish leaders would not accept a Sunni Arab in the human rights ministry, which is being temporarily lead by a Kurd.

Salih al-Mutlag, head of the National Dialogue Council, a coalition of 10 Sunni factions, identified the Sunni deputy prime minister as Abid Mutlag al-Juburi, a former major general in Saddam's army. He said three candidates were being discussed for defense minister: Hamid Obeid and Ahmed al-Rikan, both former generals under Saddam, and Mohammed Hassan Dalwa.

On Jan. 30, millions of Iraqis risked their lives to elect the Shiite-dominated assembly, but many Sunnis boycotted the vote or stayed home for fear of attacks at the polls.

Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahara and Sinan Salaheddin contributed to this report.

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