In Baghdad, more than 1,100 Iraqis met this weekend for a national conference inside the high-security green zone. The conference was assembled to form a 100-person commission that is to organize elections in January and hold veto powers over decrees passed by the interim government. According to press reports the weekend conference was largely thrown into chaos by the continued fighting in Najaf. Al Jazeera reports 100 Shiite delegates resigned to protest the US military actions in Najaf. In addition representatives from two of the most high profile Iraqi groups were not present: backers of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr nor the influential Sunni Muslim Clerics Association. Outside the conference in Baghdad, a mortar attack was launched during the meeting. Two people died at a nearby bus stop, 17 were injured. The New York Times reported the conference was held in siege-like conditions.