Iraqi leaders meet in bid to end political paralysis

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq's fractious political leaders were to hold another round of talks on Sunday in an attempt to salvage Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's embattled unity government, an official said.

The talks come after Iraq's top Shiite and Kurdish leaders formed a new political alliance on Thursday, but without rival Sunni leaders.

Talks grouping Maliki, Kurdish President Jalal Talabani, Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, Shiite Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi, and Masud Barzani, president of the northern Kurdish region, began on Saturday and were to continue on Sunday, the official from Talabani's office said.