Sunni, Shiite politicians rally around Iraq peace plan

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday gained the backing of leading Sunni and Shiite politicians for his four-point plan "to stop the bloodshed" in the midst of widespread sectarian violence.

Iraqi media dubbed the pact the "Ramadan Agreement," because of its signing during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Under the plan, field committees would be formed, comprising political parties, religious figures, tribal leaders, dignitaries and representatives of the armed forces working to combat violence.

The Central Committee for Peace and Security would follow up with the local committees and coordinate with the General Command of the Iraqi armed forces.

The plan also includes the formation of a joint media monitoring committee and monthly meetings to assess the plan and its performance.

The plan came on a day of carnage, particularly in Baghdad. Iraqi security forces recovered 30 bodies in various Baghdad neighborhoods during a 24-hour period that ended Tuesday morning. Some of the bodies showed signs of torture.

Roadside bombs exploded Tuesday morning in the northern neighborhood of Qahiri, killing two civilians and wounding two others as well as near a U.S. military convoy on Palestine Street in eastern Baghdad.

In addition, a bomb exploded near a Shiite mosque around 9 a.m. in the central Baghdad neighborhood of Karrada, wounding five civilians.

Meanwhile, the military announced the deaths of seven American soldiers in Baghdad Monday, bringing the U.S. military death toll so far this month to 12 -- 9 soldiers and three Marines, according to a CNN count. Since the start of the war, the U.S. military has suffered 2,727 deaths in Iraq, including seven military contractors.

Monday's deaths came on a second straight day of mass abductions, with gunmen dressed as Iraqi government forces seizing at least 14 people at several computer stores in central Baghdad, a police official told CNN.

The gunmen numbered at least 25. (Full story)

Other developments

Two soldiers -- Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda and PFC John J. Jodka -- will be arraigned in Camp Pendleton, California, Wednesday on charges of murder and other offenses related to the April death of an Iraqi civilian near Hamdaniya, Iraq. A military judge will establish a schedule for further proceedings.

The chief prosecutor in the Dujail case said a verdict against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will not be rendered around October 16 as expected, but rather on October 30 or later. Jaafar Moussawi said the judges will explore the possible need for more testimony and evidence in the case. Hussein and seven co-defendants face possible execution if found guilty of crimes against humanity for a bloody crackdown against Shiites in Dujail. The alleged crackdown came after a 1982 assassination attempt against Hussein in that town. Hussein is also on trial in connection with the Anfal campaign in the Kurdish region in 1988.

CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report.

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