Iraqi premier vows to fight terrorists

Iraq’s premier says his country is involved in a “war against terrorism” as Takfiri militants capture the northern province of Nineveh.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says Iraq will not allow the region to remain in control of terrorists.

Al-Maliki also says authorities will arm citizens in Ninevah to fight the militants.

“The cabinet has created a special crisis cell to follow up on the process of volunteering and equipping and arming,” the premier said in a statement broadcast on state television.

“The cabinet praises the willingness of the citizens and the sons of the tribes to volunteer and carry weapons… to defend the homeland and defeat terrorism,” the statement added.
The prime minister has called on the country’s parliament to declare a state of emergency after Ninevah was captured by the terrorist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Al-Maliki has urged the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU) and the Arab League (AL) to help his country fight the terrorists. Maliki has also put the Iraqi armed forces on high alert.

Meanwhile, Kurdistan’s so-called Peshmerga forces say they are ready to cooperate with the Iraqi army to protect the borders between the Kurdish regions and the cities of Mosul and Tikrit in Ninevah province.

The ISIL militants operating in Iraq are mostly foreign militants.

Al-Maliki has said Saudi Arabia and Qatar are responsible for the security crisis and growing terrorism in his country, denouncing the Al Saud regime as a major supporter of global terrorism.