Shiite groups announce new alliance minus Iraqi PM

Former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, center, is flanked by members of the newly formed Iraqi National Alliance at a news conference in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 24, 2009. Major Shiite groups have formed a new alliance that will exclude the Iraqi prime minister, lawmakers said Monday, a move likely to stoke fears of increasing Iranian influence and shake up the political landscape ahead of January parliamentary elections.(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Major Shiite groups have formed a new alliance that will exclude the Iraqi prime minister, lawmakers said Monday, a step likely to stoke fears of increasing Iranian influence and shake up the political landscape before January parliamentary elections.The coalition will include the largest Shiite party, the Iranian-backed Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, or SIIC, and anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc, as well as some small Sunni and secular parties....