BAGHDAD - Iraq's cabinet approved on Tuesday two draft laws aimed at ending sectarian rifts: one creating a national guard and the other reforming government policies towards ex-members of the Baath party.

The bills will now be passed on to the parliament for approval, said Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's spokesman Rafid Jaboori.

The creation of a national guard has been a key demand of Sunni politicians in order to fight Islamic State. Ending the ban on ex-members of the Baath party, which ruled Iraq before the US-led invasion in 2003, from public service has also been a key Sunni demand.