An Iraqi court on Monday ruled that a Hezbollah commander accused of plotting the killing of five US soldiers in January 2007 should be released from custody over a lack of evidence, his lawyer said.

The leader of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region said on Friday he fears a return to a culture of violence, the latest in a series of remarks critical of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in recent weeks.

Iraq's fugitive Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, accused of running a death squad, said Friday that he has no faith in the Iraqi justice system and fears for his life.

Hundreds of followers of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr rallied in central Iraq Friday to condemn the burning of copies of the Koran and a depiction of the Prophet Mohammed by a Florida pastor.

Iraq's fugitive Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, accused of running a death squad, said Friday that he has no faith in the Iraqi justice system and fears for his life.

Top Iraqi politicians, many of whom feel marginalised by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's style of governing, called on Saturday in Arbil for greater democracy in running the country.

Iraq has reached a "crossroad," its fugitive vice-president told AFP Friday but strongly rejected the country's partition amid a deepening crisis stoking sectarian tensions.

Powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr opposes toppling the Iraqi government, but discussed not renewing the premier's mandate during a visit to Kurdistan, Sadr Movement officials said on Friday.

Powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr arrived in Iraq's Kurdistan region on Thursday, presenting himself as a mediator in a crisis between Iraq's premier and the region's president.

Powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr arrived in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on Thursday in what his spokesman said was a bid to resolve a crisis between the region and Baghdad.

Most of Iraq's remaining 40,000 anti-Qaeda militiamen have seen their pay cut by 20 percent this year following a decision by parliament, an aide to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told AFP on Tuesday.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has given a visiting Kuwaiti minister a shotgun that belonged to Saddam Hussein, a source at Talabani's office in Sulaimaniyah told AFP on Tuesday.

Massud Barzani, the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan, said he opposes the sale of F-16 warplanes to Iraq while Nuri al-Maliki is premier, as he fears they would be used against the region.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday at the start of a two-day visit to boost relations between their Muslim states.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Tehran on Sunday for two days of meetings with Iranian leaders and senior officials on various bilateral issues, Iran's IRNA state news agency reported.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Friday that Turkey is becoming a "hostile state" in the region, accusing its premier of interfering in internal Iraqi affairs and of sectarianism.

Iraq's fugitive vice president, who has been sheltering in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, following a political dispute in Baghdad on Thursday met the region's leader Massud Barzani.

Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has called for a boycott of the upcoming Formula 1 race in Bahrain over the kingdom's continued crackdown on dissidents, in a statement released on Thursday.

Anti-US Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has called for the release of jailed Bahraini activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who has been on hunger strike for more than two months.

The head of Iraq's electoral commission said after his release on Sunday that his detention on suspicion of corruption was due to just one of many often-frivolous court cases brought against the body.