Iraq's parliament elected Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid as president, which immediately appointed Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani as prime minister-designate, ending a year-long stalemate after last October's national elections, Reuters reported.

The post of president, traditionally held by a Kurd, is largely a ceremonial position, but the vote for Rashid was a key step toward forming a new government, something politicians failed to do after the election.

Rashid, 78, a British-educated engineer, was Iraq's water minister from 2003 to 2010.

He invited Sudani, a candidate from the largest parliamentary bloc known as the Coordination Structure, to form the government. Sudani had previously served as Iraq's minister of human rights and minister of labor and social affairs.

According to a military statement, the vote took place shortly after nine rockets landed Thursday in a green area of the Iraqi capital. According to security and medical sources, at least 10 people were injured in the attack, including members of the security forces.