Iraq Pm Maliki

Iraq moved closer to ending Nuri al-Maliki's stubborn grip on power when his own political clan spurned him for another prime minister called to save the country from breakup.

Iraq's Kurds said on Thursday Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was "hysterical" and not fit to run the country, further dimming the prospect of a new leadership uniting to face jihadist fighters.

Newly elected Iraqi lawmakers convene on Tuesday, under pressure to name a unity government to keep the country from splitting apart after an onslaught by Sunni Islamists who have declared a "caliphate" to rule over all the world's Muslims.

Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki, accused by domestic opponents and, increasingly, by once firm American allies of "sectarianism" that has fuelled a Sunni insurgent onslaught, is a political survivor whose time may be up.

Iraq moved closer to ending Nuri al-Maliki's stubborn grip on power when his own political clan spurned him for another prime minister called to save the country from breakup.

Iraq's Kurds said on Thursday Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was "hysterical" and not fit to run the country, further dimming the prospect of a new leadership uniting to face jihadist fighters.

Newly elected Iraqi lawmakers convene on Tuesday, under pressure to name a unity government to keep the country from splitting apart after an onslaught by Sunni Islamists who have declared a "caliphate" to rule over all the world's Muslims.

Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki, accused by domestic opponents and, increasingly, by once firm American allies of "sectarianism" that has fuelled a Sunni insurgent onslaught, is a political survivor whose time may be up.