Militants press Iraq assault, political deadlock set to drag on

Iraq's flagging government formation process seemed set to drag on Tuesday as police and tribesmen were battling an assault that could bring militants a step closer to Baghdad. World powers and Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, have piled pressure on MPs to put aside their differences, with the country facing a major jihadist-led onslaught that has overrun territory in the north and west, but progress has so far been noticeably lacking. US media was reporting that a Pentagon assessment of Iraqi security forces has reached some bleak conclusions. According to The New York Times, the assessment warned that any American troops serving as advisers would face safety risks given infiltration of the Iraqi army by Sunni extremists and Iran-backed Shiite troops or militia.

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