DAMASCUS - A new coalition formed to run in the parliamentary elections scheduled for January - announced in Iraq on Monday - has the backing of Iran and could pose a serious challenge to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
The coalition includes 10 political parties - all Shi'ite - and is to be called the Iraqi National Alliance (INA). It replaces the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) and will include heavyweights like Ahmad Chalabi, a former vice president, the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), its military wing the Badr Brigade, the Sadrist bloc of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and a breakaway wing of Maliki's ruling Da'wa Party.
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