Iraqi parliament breaks deadlock to elect speaker

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi lawmakers have broken their deadlock and elected a new speaker of parliament — the first step toward forming a new government.

The legislature chose Sunni lawmaker Salim al-Jubouri as the new speaker with 194 votes Tuesday in the 328-seat parliament.

It was unclear whether al-Jubouri's election indicated that a larger agreement had been struck among political blocs for the posts of president and prime minister.

Under an informal agreement that took hold after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the speaker's chair goes to a Sunni, the presidency to a Kurd and the prime minister's post to a Shiite.

Parliament is under pressure to move quickly to fill all three posts and form a new government that can confront the Sunni militants who have overrun much of northern and western Iraq.