SIIC denies attempts to oust Maliki

BAGHDAD, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- The Shiite Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council denied allegations it was trying to seek a no-confidence vote for the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

SIIC officials rejected claims by Sami al-Askari of the United Iraqi Alliance, who told reporters SIIC was looking to oust Maliki in the wake of the resignation of former Parliament speaker Mahmoud Mashhadani.

"The SIIC expressed condemnation and rejection to these irresponsible statements which contradict with the traditions and relations among political blocs," the group said in a statement.

Mashhadani, a member of the Iraq Accordance Front, stepped down in December as lawmakers bickered over a provision for non-U.S. troop presence in Iraq.

Askari told reporters Monday that Mashhadani was pressured to resign because he would not cast a vote in opposition of the Maliki government, saying the resignation was the consequence of that vote.

His resignation comes on the heels of arrests by a special counter-terrorism force led by Maliki of several members of the Iraqi Interior Ministry who were allegedly seeking to reconstitute the deposed Baath Party.

Iraqi lawmakers have been at odds over the Mashhadani seat, but the Voices of Iraq news agency Friday said either Ayad al-Samarraie or Osama al-Tikriti of the Iraqi Islamic Party would fill the post.

The IIP is part of the Accordance Front.