Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi announced in a statement that he submitted this proposal to Iraqi leaders in order to spare the country further tensions. On another note, at least 11 people were killed when three car bombs exploded in public markets in the Shi'ite provinces of Amara and Diywaniya in southern Iraq, medics and police sources said. Iraq's sectarian tensions are at their highest since U.S. troops left the country more than a year ago. Security forces raided a Sunni Muslim protest camp last week, triggering widespread violence.