BAGHDAD: Thousands of Iraqi’s gripped by religious and nationalistic fervor streamed into volunteer centers Saturday across Iraq, answering a call by the country’s top religious leader to join the fight against al-Qaeda inspired rebels advancing in the north.
Dozens climbed into the back of army trucks, chanting slogans and hoisting assault rifles, pledging to battle the terror group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which has launched a lightning advance across the country.
“By God’s will, we will be victorious.” said one volunteer, Ali Saleh Aziz. “We will not be stopped by the ISIL or any other terrorists.”
The massive response to the call by the Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued via his representative Friday, comes as rebels, widely believed to be financed by Saudi Arabia, threatened to march to Shia holy cities of Karbala and Najaf sparking worst fears of sectarian bloodbath since they (rebels) blew up the revered shrine of Shia Imam’s in Samarra in 2006.
Fighters from the al-Qaida splinter group, drawing support from remnants of Saddam Husseins Bath Party and disgruntled army figures of his era, have made dramatic gains in the Sunni heartland north of Baghdad after overrunning Iraq’s second-largest city of Mosul on Tuesday. Soldiers and policemen have melted away in the face of the lightning advance, and thousands have fled to the self-rule Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
On Saturday, insurgents seized the small town of Adeim in Diyala province after Iraqi security forces pulled out, said the head of the municipal council, Mohammed Dhifan. Adeim is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad. There was no official confirmation of the loss of the town.
Jawad al-Bolani, a lawmaker and former Cabinet minister close to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said a military offensive was underway Saturday to drive the insurgents from Tikrit, Saddam’s hometown north of Baghdad, although fighting in the area could not be confirmed.
Sunni Muslim Join
A key Sunni Muslim tribal leader said his forces are helping government battle militants and called for urgent U.S. military intervention to help stop their advance.
Weve been fighting al-Qaeda in Anbar for the past six months and were ready to fight for another six months, Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha said in a phone interview today from Ramadi in western Iraq.
Its the first indication that Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki retains some support in the minority Sunni population, which has complained of being marginalized in the years since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that led to the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
Abu Risha leads the Awakening Council in Anbar province. Also known as The Sahwa or the Sons of Iraq.
Sunnis are a majority in Anbar province and in areas to the north of Baghdad, while Shia account for the majority in the south, where 60 percent of the countrys oil wealth resides.
SYRIA FACTOR
The fast-moving rebellion has emerged as the biggest threat to Iraq’s stability since even before the Americans left.
The latest bout of fighting, stoked by the civil war in neighboring Syria, has pushed the nation even closer to a precipice that could partition it into Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish zones.
Shia cleric and political leader Ammar al-Hakim was shown on television networks donning a camouflaged military fatigue as he spoke to volunteers from his party, although he still wore his clerical black turban that designates him as a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
State-run television also aired a constant flow of nationalist songs, clips of soldiers marching or singing, flying aircraft, brief interviews with troops vowing to crush the militants and archival clips of the nation’s top Shia clerics.
MALIKI IN SAMARRA
Extensive clips of al-Maliki’s visit on Friday to the city of Samarra, home to the revered shrine of Imam Muhammad Jawad and Hassan al Askari, 10th and 11th Shia Imams, that were bombed in 2006, also were broadcast.
Maliki said that “the cabinet granted the prime minister, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, unlimited powers” to combat the militants, in a statement posted late Friday on his website.
The footage seemed clearly aimed at rehabilitating his reputation in the eyes of people, with a dour-faced al-Maliki seen praying at the shrine an apparent reminder of his commitment to his faith and the protection of its followers. He also declared that Samarra would be the assembly point for the march farther north to drive out the militants.
He called for all Iraqis to “fight this war against the enemies of righteousness and faith, who recently tried to target this holy shrine.”
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