By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and LEE KEATH

Associated Press Writers

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Gatherings of Iraq’s top politicians start with polite greetings and dinner. But once tea is poured after the meal, the tone changes: Sunnis and Shiites lash out, accusing each other of supporting death squads.

Mistrust is deep in what was once lauded as Iraq’s national unity government. The tensions between them mount with each new tragedy - and it is even worse when the bloodshed becomes personal, as it did this week with the slaying of a brother of Iraq’s most prominent Sunni Arab politician, Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi.

Sunnis blamed Shiite militias for the killing - the third sibling of al-Hashimi to be gunned down. The political leaders had been planning to meet to flesh out a plan to stop the sectarian violence, but now it will likely have to be put off a few days until tempers cool, Shiite lawmaker Bassem Sherif said Tuesday.

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