Abdul Mahdi also selected Qassim al-Aaraji, former minister of interior, as the head of the National Security Agency and Irfan Ayalish as adviser to the Iraqi Security Council.

The office of Prime Minister said on Friday that Abdul Mahdi himself would fulfill the duties of Minister of Interior until he chose someone for the post, NRT reported.

The Iraqi parliament approved fourteen nominees to the new cabinet earlier in the week, leaving a number of important posts unfilled.

Abdul Mahdi was officially inaugurated in a ceremony on Thursday, a day after presenting his initial slate of nominees to parliament the previous evening.

Reporter’s code: 50101