4 US troops killed as Iraqis wrangle on forming govt

An Iraqi interpreter also died in the blast northwest of the capital in the type of violence Washington hopes a grand coalition of Shias, Sunnis and Kurds will start to tackle after five months of stalemate.

Prime Minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki is juggling with a host of names put forward by the various political parties for the posts already broadly allocated to them, negotiators said.

Factional fighting within Maliki's own Shia Alliance bloc and others was complicating the task of appointing ministers to be confirmed in Saturday's expected parliamentary vote.