Iraq continues to face nationwide violence amidst an ongoing impasse over forming a new unity government. Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds are all pushing different candidates for the key posts of prime minister, speaker of the parliament and president. The talks began this month but quickly broke down. A parliamentary meeting on Sunday was adjourned after just 30 minutes, with the next session scheduled for Tuesday. This comes as Sunni militants continue to carry out attacks as they expand their stronghold in the north and west of Iraq. On Sunday, militants led by the “Islamic State” group killed six people and seized government buildings in a town north of Baghdad. On Saturday, unidentified gunmen killed 26 people, including 20 women, in an attack on a building in Baghdad. The site had been linked to prostitution. The death toll from a suicide bombing in Kirkuk on Friday has reached 28.