Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has accepted the resignations of five more ministers, his office said on Tuesday.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has accepted the resignations of five more ministers, his office said on Tuesday.

Abadi issued orders accepting the resignations of the ministers of oil, transport, housing and construction, water resources and industry, as well as interior, which had been previously announced.

But replacing them will be a major challenge: Abadi struggled to win parliament's approval for even relatively minor ministers, and oil and interior are two of the most powerful ministries in the country.

And while parliament finally approved a few of Abadi's candidates in late April, a court scrapped the session, from which some lawmakers were barred from attending, two months later.

The premier called in February for the cabinet to include technocrats, but has faced major opposition from powerful political parties that rely on control of ministries for patronage and funds.