Muhannad al-Issawi, a spokesman for Adnan al-Dulaimi, leader of the Iraqi Accordance Front, had said that the 44-seat bloc decided in a meeting Saturday to demand that al-Mashhadani preside over Sunday's session.

"If the demand is rejected by other blocs, then the Accordance Front will suspend its participation in parliament," al-Issawi had told The Associated Press.

The Accordance bloc was joined in the boycott by the National Dialogue Front.

The Shia-dominated legislature wants al-Mashhadani to step down and has named his Shia deputy, Khaled al-Attiya, as a temporary replacement.

Many legislators viewed al-Mashhandani's erratic behavior as unbecoming and a hindrance to parliament's ability to pass key benchmark legislation as demanded by Washington.

Meanwhile, the US military announced the deaths of three more soldiers in Iraq yesterday, bringing total US losses to 71 in the month of June.

One soldier was killed by small arms fire when his patrol was attacked in south Baghdad and another was killed in combat operations northwest of the capital. Both attacks took place on Saturday.

A third US soldier died the same day in a "non-combat related incident," the military said in a statement.

The deaths bring total US casualties since the March 2003 invasion to 3,548, according to an AFP count based on Pentagon figures.