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A Sunni Arab-led bloc has ended its boycott of Iraq's parliament - the last of several Sunni groups to return after walking out three months ago.

The Iraqi National Dialogue Front said the government had agreed to address security fears and delay oil-law talks.

Iraq's government is considering key laws demanded by the US amid increasing pressure to end the political deadlock.

Meanwhile, at least nine people have been killed in a suicide car bombing in Baghdad's Shia district of Sadr City.

The bomber set off his explosives after police fired on him as he tried to drive through a checkpoint. Several people were injured.

In other violence:

* Four people were killed after a bomb exploded in a market in the Shia holy city of Kufa, medical officials said

* Two people were killed when a bomb hit a house in the Baladiyat district of eastern Baghdad , police said

* Gunmen in Najaf killed Mohammed al-Qarawi, the director of tribal affairs for radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr late on Friday, police said.

Benchmark laws

The leader of the National Dialogue Front, Saleh al-Mutlaq, said all of its 11 members that hold seats in the 275-seat parliament would return to work.


We need a liberal government, we need a secular government. Without such a government the violence will continue
Saleh al-Mutlaq

Other conditions of return set by the bloc, which describes itself as a non-sectarian coalition, included allocating funds to help resettle millions of people displaced by violence.

The main Sunni Arab bloc, the Accordance Front, and a faction loyal to Moqtada Sadr also recently ended their boycotts.

"We need a liberal government, we need a secular government. Without such a government the violence will continue," Mr Mutlaq said on Al-Jazeera television.

He added: "The violence will grow again, as people will lose hope if nothing changes on the political side."

Parliament will soon review two laws that the US sees as key steps towards political reconciliation and a withdrawal of its forces in Iraq.

Saleh al-Mutlaq
Mr Mutlaq's bloc describes itself as a non-sectarian coalition
One will let members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party back into the government. The other will determine how to share the country's oil revenues.

Mr Mutlaq said the government had agreed to delay negotiations on the oil law until after Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting expected to start next week.

It is in the interests of the bloc to be present when this crucial draft legislation is debated, says the BBC's Hugh Sykes in Baghdad.

And if clear ground rules are put in place for oil revenues, Iraq will be in a much more secure position to attract lucrative international investment in new wells and oil fields, our correspondent says.