Senior Cleric Calls on Iraqi Nation to Unite against ISIL Terrorists

Tehran’s provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani called on the Iraqi people to become united against the wave of terrorist attacks by the foreign-backed Al-Qaeda terrorists.

Addressing a large and fervent congregation of the people on Tehran University campus on Friday, Ayatollah Emami Kashani said, “The Iraqi nation should be integrated against this Takfiri group.”

Ayatollah Kashani noted that the Iraqi people can defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as the Syrian nation did.

Just days ago, the Takfiri militants gained control of parts of the country’s Northern and North-central areas, including the city of Mosul. On June 10, the militants took control of Nineveh Province, forcing “over 500,000 people in and around” its capital Mosul to flee, according to Geneva-based International Organization for Migration.

Reports also indicated that, on June 11, the militants seized the city of Tikrit; shortly afterwards, however, Iraqi forces managed to recapture the central city, located roughly half way between Baghdad and Mosul.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on the international community to support the Iraqi government in its fight against the militants.

Takfiri groups are reportedly entering Iraq from neighboring Syria and Saudi Arabia to undermine security in the country.

Maliki has vowed to continue fighting the militants.