Kurdish Ministers Boycott Iraqi Cabinet Meetings

There are new signs Iraq's government is breaking down after the terrorist takeover in the north.

Iraq's Kurdish political bloc is boycotting the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and calling for the premier's resignation.

That announcement comes a day after al-Maliki accused the largely autonomous Kurdish region of harboring Sunni radicals who have overrun much of the country.

The prime minister provided no evidence, and the Kurds denied the allegations.

"Such statements are meant to hide the big security fiasco by blaming others, and we announce our boycott of cabinet meetings," Deputy Prime Minister Roz Nouri Shawez, the highest level Kurdish official in the government, said.

A statement from the office of Kurdish President Massoud Barzani called al-Maliki "hysterical," saying he had "lost his balance,"

Kurdish cabinet ministers hold several key portfolios, including foreign affairs, trade and health and immigration.

Critics of al-Maliki say his failure to encourage reconciliation with the Sunni minority has fueled the country's crisis.

Meanwhile, some say al-Maliki's determination to seek a third consecutive term blocks efforts to form a new government that could potentially stabilize the country and deal with Sunni extremists now controlling control big chunks of northern and western Iraq.