Sunnis boycott parliament

BAGHDAD, July 3 (UPI) -- Sunni legislators, in the first major sectarian split in Iraq's new government, announced a parliamentary boycott Sunday until a kidnapped colleague is freed.

Tayseer Najah al-Mashhadani, a legislator representing the Iraqi Islamic Party -- which is part of the main Sunni bloc -- was kidnapped Saturday. Gunmen believed to belong to a Shiite militia, ambushed her convoy as she drove into Baghdad.

The Iraqi Consensus Front, which holds 44 seats in the Parliament, also threatened to withdraw from the cabinet unless Mashhadani is released within two days, The New York Times said.

On Sunday, a Shiite legislator escaped unhurt from an ambush in southern Baghdad, although two of her bodyguards were wounded.