Iraqi Shias, Sunnis Volunteer to Fight against ISIL
According to General Feysal Kadhim, chief of police force in Basra, the number of volunteers in the province has exceeded 100,000 as more and more youths come to register for defending their country against terrorists, Al-Sumaria news website reports.
Over the recent days, the ISIL militants in Iraq, who are allied with loyalists of Iraq’s former Baathist regime, have been wreaking havoc in the country and committing atrocities against people.
The militants overran large swathes of land in northern Iraq, including the cities of Mosul, the country’s second-largest city, and Tikrit, the birthplace of former Baathist dictator Saddam Hussein, in just two weeks.
Meanwhile, Iraqi army forces have flushed out ISIL militants from a major district near the city of Baqubah in Diyala province.
On June 13, Ayatollah Sistani called on the Iraqi people to take up arms and defend their country against Takfiri militants belonging to the ISIL. Iraqi media say more than two million people have so far voiced their readiness to join the fight.
Meanwhile, Head of the Iraqi National Coalition Ibrahim Jafari has warned countries that back terrorism to stop their support.
