Unity, Only Way To End Extremism In Iraq

Tehran, Sept 2, IRNA - Considering that Western and Arab nations are realizing that the Iraq, Syria crises will backfire on them as militants usually return to their own homeland, including those in Europe and Arab states, ˈIran Dailyˈ called for stronger unity in Iraq to end extremism. Likewise, other states should also unite to put an end to terrorism and sectarianism in the Mideast, added the English-language paper in its Opinion column on Tuesday. In light of the fact that the terrorist ISIL group has been creating over the past three months, expanding its brutal attacks on other cities and ethnic groups including the Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians, Yezidi and many others, the daily noted that the first Iraqi figure to realize the existential threat of the Takfiri terrorists was Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani who called on the people to take to arms and defy them. Following the Grand Ayatollahˈs fatwa, thousands of Iraqi volunteers rushed to military bases to join the army to the fight the ISIL. Unity is bearing fruit, as is seen in the intentions of Iraqi groups to first settle their political differences, whatever be the issue, noted the paper. In recent days, the Iraqi army, backed by Kurdish Peshmerga and volunteer forces, checked ISILˈs advance and pressed a fight-back against the militants. Likewise, the army has succeeded in breaking the 11-week siege Amerli town, considered the biggest success for the Iraqi government since the militants overran much of the north and west of Iraq, praised the paper. Iraqi forces maintained the momentum of their advance, recapturing Sulaiman Bek, a town north of Amerli that had been an important ISIL stronghold. Outside Iraq, Iran also took a wise stand by supporting a political solution for the process of prime ministerial election and backing the central and Kurdish governments against ISIL, highlighted the daily. Iran’s stance encouraged other states to back the Iraqis by condemning militants’ crimes and also sending military and humanitarian assistance to Iraq. Even recently a senior US official called for global alliance against ISIL despite the fact that Washington has been supporting the militants in neighboring Syria since 2011./end