Baghdad, Iraq ? U.S. and Iraqi troops battled foreign fighters near the Syrian border and found the body of Anbar province’s missing governor, the highest-ranking Iraqi official kidnapped since the fall of Saddam Hussein, authorities said Tuesday.

The announcement came as the Shiite-dominated parliament reached out to the disgruntled Sunni Arab minority by offering a role on the committee drafting a new constitution. But in a development that could affect efforts to get Shiites and Sunnis working together, President Jalal Talabani said Saddam, a Sunni, could be put on trial in the next two months. The former dictator’s lawyers said they knew nothing about that.

Officials said the body of Anbar Gov. Raja Nawaf Farhan al-Mahalawi was found Sunday after troops engaged in a fierce firefight with foreigners holed up in a house in Rawah, 175 miles northwest of Baghdad.

Al-Mahalawi was not shot. An Iraqi government spokesman, Laith Kuba, said the governor apparently was killed by falling rubble. He was chained to a tank of propane.

Al-Mahalawi was kidnapped May 10 during an offensive by U.S. Marines to clear foreign fighters from a stretch of desert along the border with Syria. His fate had been shrouded in mystery since an announcement by relatives and a government official that he had been released two weeks ago.

Rooting out extremists

Another U.S. operation in the region ended Monday in nearby Haditha after scouring that town for insurgents and local allies of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.

President Bush offered words of reassurance for Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari’s government as it pursued an Iraqi military operation to root out extremists in Baghdad.

“What you’re seeing is a group of frustrated and desperate people who kill innocent life, and we obviously mourn the loss of every life, but I believe the Iraqi government is plenty capable of dealing with them,” Bush said at a Rose Garden news conference.

The Baghdad crackdown, Operation Lightning, involves more than 40,000 soldiers.

Political overture

In an effort to calm sectarian tensions worsened by the relentless insurgency, key lawmakers said Tuesday they wanted 13 Sunni Arabs to join a 55-member committee of legislators given the task of drafting Iraq’s constitution by mid-August.

Iraqi boys play with toy guns in Baghdad as Operation Lightning, a large-scale anti-insurgent campaign, entered its third day. The operation, which has more than 40,000 soldiers deployed to the capital's streets, aims at ridding Baghdad of militants.

The 13 Sunnis would not have a right to vote, because they were not elected to the 275-member National Assembly, but legislators sought to ease any concerns by offering assurances the panel would make decisions only by consensus.

Although Sunni Arabs make up 15 percent to 20 percent of Iraq’s 26 million people, there are just 17 Sunni Arabs in parliament, because most did not take part in the historic Jan. 30 election.

Even though Shiite Arabs and Kurds form a strong overall majority, Sunni Arab support is needed for the constitution because a negative vote in three of Iraq’s 18 provinces during a national referendum would block the charter and Sunni Arabs have big majorities in four of them.

Other developments

¢ The U.S. military said a Marine was killed Monday in a firefight near the restive city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad. At least 1,661 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003.

¢ The U.N. Security Council extended the mandate of the U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq on Tuesday, saying it hopes Iraqi forces will soon be able to play a greater role and ultimately assume responsibility for their country’s security.

¢ In an audio tape purportedly of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the insurgent leader sent a message to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden that he was in good health after suffering a slight wound in a firefight with U.S. troops, and would “tighten the noose” on his foes.

¢ An Italian military helicopter crashed in Iraq, killing the four people aboard.