Suicide bomber kills 10 at recruiting center in Iraq

Iraqi new constitution would be written without Sunnis participation. Sunni Muslim members on a committee drafting the new Iraqi constitution suspended their membership Wednesday, as the violence against Sunnis continues growing.

Two Sunnis had already quit due to insurgent threats, and with the death of Issa the others were considering withdrawing from the committee. Kamal Hamdoun, a Sunni member, said the 12 remaining members would meet Thursday with Sunni leaders and decide what to do, says the AP.

"Our membership has been suspended temporarily until tomorrow when we meet the committee that chose us," Hamdoun said. "We don't have security."

"The environment in Iraq isn't right for anyone to get work done," said Salih al-Mutlaq, a spokesman for the Iraqi National Dialogue, a Sunni Arab organisation, in explaining why the group's representatives had suspended their membership, reports Reuters.

At the same time a suicide bomber blew himself up outside an army recruiting center in central Baghdad, killing at least 10 people.

Wearing an explosives belt, the suicide bomber detonated his charge at the entrance to a recruiting center at the defunct Muthanna airport in central Baghdad, according to police and medical officials.

At least 21 others were injured in the attack, said Dr. Muhannad Jawad from Yarmouk Hospital. The recruiting center has been targeted multiple times in recent months, with the latest attack on July 10, killing 25 and wounding 47.

On Tuesday, one of the members of the drafting committee, Mijbil Issa, was killed along with two companions in a drive-by shooting.

On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that one draft of the constitution would give added prominence to Islamic law, restricting the rights of women when it comes to issues such as inheritance and divorce.