As the debate over the constitution rages on, bloodshed continues to dominate the news coming out of the country. Over the past 2 days some 100 Iraqis have been killed, a significant number of them in fighting among various religious factions. The fighting has spurred radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr to appear in public after his offices were hit by gunmen. Sadr and his Mehdi Army, have popular support in Iraq’s poor central provinces and are opposed to a federated Iraq putting Sadr as the same side of the majority of Sunnis. On Thursday, al Sadr’s supporters clashed with pro-constitution Shias of the Badr group, led by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. al Sadr accused him of being responsible for the attacks.

• Moqtada al Sadr: “I demand that brother Abdul Aziz al-Hakim make an official announcement condemning the aggression by his representatives and some extremists, against the office of the honourable martyr (his father, Sadr). We hope he and the brothers from the Badr Organisation will do.”

Meanwhile, Iraqi president Jalal Talabani also escaped an assassination attempt in which eight of his bodyguards were killed and 15 injured. This comes as Iraqi police found the bodies of 36 men near the Iranian border who were reportedly handcuffed and executed.