The Iraqi Accordance Front, the largest Sunni bloc in Parliament, agreed to suspend its boycott and return to the government on Thursday after an absence of more than two weeks.

The development comes two days after the Sadrists also made their return to Parliament, raising hopes that some legislative progress could be achieved before the August break.

The IAF suspended its participation in the government after an arrest warrant was issued against Culture Minister Asad Kamal al-Hashimi late last month accusing him of involvement in the murder of two sons of a fellow parliamentarian. However, tensions had begun to build weeks earlier with the expulsion of Mahmoud al-Mashhadani as speaker of Parliament.

According to the AP, the 44 members of the Iraqi Accordance Front attended Thursday's session after striking a deal with other blocs to reinstate Mashhadani, ousted by the Shiite-dominated assembly last month for erratic behavior.

Al-Mashhadani is expected to gracefully resign after presiding over a number of sessions, AP reports. Shiite legislator Hassan al-Suneid, an aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said al-Mashhadani's return came after secret conditions that should not be made public.

However, one official said al-Mashhadani has until Wednesday to step down or parliament will force him out. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

Reuters reports that Mashhadani presided over Thursday's meeting of Parliament, where the other political blocs welcomed the IAF's return as a positive step.

MP Alaa Tahsin al-Sadoun from the IAF told VOI that al-Mashhadani's return was a result of the front's demands to the parliament to reconsider his removal. Sadoun explained that the front has not yet decided on a replacement for al-Mashhadani, adding that the issue is currently under discussion.

Though all the reporting on IAF's new turn focuses on the role of Mashhadani, the speaker's return was only one of the demands the Accordance Front earlier made a condition of ending the boycott. In addition, the IAF had wanted the government to appoint a neutral committee to investigate the killings attributed to Hashemi, and cancel the arrest warrant against him.