Iraqi soldiers and volunteers from the Abbas Unit fan out into a field in Jurf al Sakhr, 60 kilometers southwest of BaghdadAFP
As strife-torn Iraq reels under the armed insurgency of Islamic State Sunni Islamists, political factions in Baghdad are engaged in a bitter battle for power raising fears of a coup d'état against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's administration.
In a show of force, the embattled Maliki is amassing troops loyal to him in Baghdad amid rising speculation that his soldiers have surrounded the presidential palace.
Maliki, who is seeking a third term, has taken on the newly-elected president Fuad Masoum for not asking his political alliance, the State of Law Coalition (SLC), to form the next government.
"The president's actions are a coup over the constitution and political process in a country that has a democratic, federal and pluralist system," he said in an address on state-run television.
Maliki accused Masoum of "violating the constitution for political reasons and supporting one political faction at the expense of another and the interests of the Iraqi people".
Some analysts have interpreted the latest decision to deploy troops in the capital as Maliki's desire to take total control of Baghdad.
Maliki has also urged the parliament speaker to take necessary action against the president.
Maliki has been serving as a caretaker leader following the indecisive elections in April this year. He has refused to step down despite intense pressure since he is widely seen as a polarising figure.
In the meantime, a new prime minister is reportedly ready to be installed in Baghdad that could further infuriate Maliki.
The SLC bloc, the biggest Shiite-led coalition, is on the verge of finalising the name of the next Iraqi premier, said deputy speaker of parliament Haider al-Abadi.
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