Iraq's Shiite and Sunni Arabs struck a deal Thursday to add more Sunni members to Iraq's constitution writing committee, amid a renewed wave of violence across the country.

The 55-member committee originally included two Sunni Arabs, but under the deal 15 more Sunnis will be brought into the committee tasked with drafting a constitution by Aug. 15. The agreement ended weeks of wrangling over the size of representation by the Sunni minority.

Another 10 Sunni Arabs will serve as consultant members of the committee, according to the deal.

The agreement raised hopes for the political process in the violence-ravaged country, which has threatened to unravel as time is running out for the parliament committee to meet the Aug. 15 deadline to write a permanent constitution, which will be put to a referendum by Oct. 15.

If the constitution is approved, a new general election will be held by Dec. 15 and a new government will take office by the end of the year.

Sunni Arabs, who used to enjoy privilege under the former Saddam Hussein's regime, have been largely sidelined in the country's political process since most of them shunned the Jan. 30 election.

However, the Shiite-led government has reiterated commitment to bringing the Sunni Arabs, about 20 percent of Iraq's 27 million population, into the political fold.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the agreement.

In a statement released by the spokesman, Annan said the committee is now more inclusive of the country's Sunni Arab community.

The secretary-general is pleased that his Special Representative for Iraq, Ashraf Qazi and the Head of the Office of Constitutional Support of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, Nicholas Haysom, were able to help facilitate the agreement.

Annan hoped that the people of Iraq will seize this historic opportunity to pursue a constitutional process that is responsive to the key demands of all Iraqi political constituencies and that every effort will be made to complete the drafting of the constitution in accordance with the agreed timetable.

The United Nations will continue to do everything possible to support the constitution-making process and to facilitate Iraq's political transition in accordance with its mandate under Security Council resolution 1546, the secretary-general said.

The deal came amid a new wave of violence in Iraq. Five US marines were killed in a roadside bomb blast in the western city of Ramadi, the US military said in a statement on Thursday.

A total of 1,712 US military personnel have been killed in Iraq since the war started in March 2003, figures released by the Pentagon on Thursday showed. But the White House rejected a timetable for the US troops to withdraw from Iraq and said this would be "absolutely the wrong message."

On a main road to Baghdad airport, six Iraqi policemen were killed and 25 others wounded in a suicide car bombing attack on Thursday.

In the northern city of Mosul, Iraqi judge Salem Mahmoud al-Haj Ali was shot dead by assailants Thursday when he was on his way to work, the police said, adding his driver was also killed in the attack.

Shortly afterwards, Ansar al-Sunna, an Islamic militant group, claimed responsibility for the assassination in an internet statement.

Also in the city, US forces have detained a top aide to the Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a US general said on Thursday.

The US forces captured Muhammed Khalif Shaker, also known as Abu Talha, who is the leader of al-Qaida group in Mosul, Brigadier General Donald Alston told a news conference in Baghdad.

Shaker was captured on Tuesday with little resistance, the US general said. "This is a major defeat for the al-Qaida organization in Iraq."

"He gave up without a fight despite having been quoted as saying he would never surrender," Alston said, adding Shaker's capture depended on tips from local people.

Source: Xinhua