UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- The Security Council renewed on Thursday for a further year the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), whose tasks range from coordinating various humanitarian operations to helping the war-torn country draft a new constitution and organize fresh elections by the end of the year.

    "The United Nations should play a leading role in assisting the efforts of the Iraqi people and government in developing institutions for representative government, and in promoting national dialogue and unity," the council said in a resolution it adopted unanimously.

    "This Iraqi national dialogue, which UNAMI should assist, is crucial for Iraq's political stability and unity," it stressed, adding that the council intended to review the mandate of UNAMI in 12 months or sooner, if requested by the government of Iraq.

    The mission was established by a Security Council resolution adopted in August 2003, but the Aug. 13, 2003 bombing attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad greatly reduced its capacity to actin side Iraq. After that, the mission operated primarily from outside Iraq and only resumed operations in the country in August 2004.

    At present, there are some 260 UN civilian and military personnel based in Iraq. Enditem