BAGHDAD (AP) ? A group of Iraqi political dissidents on Saturday created a new opposition party to act as a check on the country's government.
About 45 activists announced the creation of the Union of Patriotic Figures and described it as a secular political group of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds from about 27 mostly minor Iraqi parties.
Among them was Mishaan al-Saadi, who unsuccessfully ran for election to parliament in 2010 on the secular but Sunni-dominated Iraqiya list.
"We will be an opposition to monitor both the government and the parliament," al-Saadi told reporters.
The new group is forming as Iraq grapples with a political crisis over an arrest warrant issued against the Sunni vice president by the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Maliki is struggling to avoid defections from the coalition government he formed after the 2010 elections, which failed to produce a clear leader.
Also Saturday, a local police chief was seriously wounded by a car bomb south of Baghdad.
Police said Lt. Col. Salman Kadhim was badly hurt by the bomb that was hidden in a parked car in the town of Jbala, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) south of Baghdad.
Two of Kadhim's guards were also wounded in the explosion. A local health official confirmed the injuries.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.
Insurgents are believed to be stepping up attacks to highlight the government's instability amid the political crisis and fears caused by the withdrawal of U.S. troops in December.
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