IRAQ MAKES GAINS AGAINST MILITANTS
‘We will send all the IS gang to death’: al-Maliki
Iraq’s outgoing prime minister pledged Monday to turn his country into “a big grave” for Sunni militants from the Islamic State group and commended security forces who achieved a rare victory over insurgents by ending the siege of a Shiite town.
Nouri al-Maliki made the comments during an unannounced visit to the northern community of Amirli, where he was greeted with hugs.
A day earlier, Iraqi forces, backed by Iran-allied Shiite militias and U.S. airstrikes, broke a two-month siege of the town where some 15,000 Shiite Turkomen had been stranded.
In footage aired on state TV, al-Maliki was shown sitting at a wooden desk in front of a large poster of Shiite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al- Sistsani, ordering promotions and awards for those who fought in the battle.
“I salute you for your steadfastness and patience against those beasts and killers,” he told a gathering of fighters in a large hall as they chanted Shiite religious slogans.
He vowed to root out Sunni militants from areas they control in the country.
“All Iraq will be a grave for those infidels, and we will send all the IS (Islamic State) gang to death,” he added.
Hours before the visit, humanitarian aid began flowing to the town.
Four trucks loaded with food and medicine arrived after being sent by the Iraqi government and the Iraqi Red Crescent, according to Ali al-Bayati, who heads the aid organization called the Turkmen Saving Foundation. Soldiers began bringing food to families in their houses Sunday night.
“The situation is getting back to normal, but gradually,” al-Bayati told The Associated Press.
“Some people have come out from their houses and walked in
Amirli people have clearly shown that Iraqis could not be intimidated by terrorists.
the street. Shops are still closed, but people are happy to see their city secured by Iraqi security forces.”
Shiite Turkoman lawmaker Fawzi Akram al-Tarzi said the U.S. airstrikes and Iranian support for Iraqi forces “have played a positive role in defeating the terrorists,” although he said the airstrikes “came late” in the battle.
On Monday, Iraqi security forces and Shiite militiamen retook the nearby town of Suleiman Beg following fierce clashes with Sunni militants, Al-Tarzi said.
“The brave people of Amirli have made their town a new Stalingrad,” he added, referring to the former name of the Russian city of Volgo- grad, famous for resisting a long siege by the German military during the Second World War.
“Amirli people have clearly shown that Iraqis could not be intimidated by terrorists.”
Since early this year, Iraq has faced a growing Sunni insurgency led by an al- Qaida-breakaway group, the Islamic State.
With help from allied militants, they have taken over territory in the country’s north and west and created Iraq’s worst crisis since the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. troops.
In June, a summer offensive stunned Iraqi security forces and the military, which melted away and withdrew as the Islamic State group overran the northern cities of Mosul and Tikrit, as well as small towns and villages on their path.
Thousands of fighters from Iranian-backed Shiite militias have answered a call by al- Sistani to join government forces in the fight.
The U.S. airstrikes that helped liberate Amirli were the first to hit areas where Iranian-backed militias were fighting Sunni militants, possibly outlining an unlikely alliance between the U.S. and Shiite militiamen who once fought American soldiers in Iraq.
Military advisers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard have been guiding Shiite militiamen in artillery attacks on Sunni positions.
Since Aug. 8, the U.S. has carried out at least 120 airstrikes with aircraft and unmanned drones.
The American military has focused on areas bordering the selfruled northern Kurdish region where Kurdish forces have been fighting the militants.