Iraqi communications minister resigns

Iraqi Communications Minister Mohammed Allawi resigned Monday from his post, Iraqi official television reported. "Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki approved today the request of the Minister of Communications Mohammed Allawi to resign from his post," the state-run television Iraqia quoted the Ministry of Communications spokesman Samir Ali Hassoun as saying. Hassoun said Allawi presented a list of demands to Maliki over the ministry's administration on Sunday, threatening to quit if his demands are not fulfilled, but he did not specify what those demands were and what dispute Allawi was involved in with Maliki. Allawi is a member of the mostly Sunni-backed bloc of Iraqia, which is a major political opponent of Maliki's Shiite alliance. Earlier this year, Iraqia made an unsuccessful attempt to withdraw confidence from Maliki's government over political rows.