Abadi reiterates priority to defeat IS

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that the government will avoid treason and conspiracy, and will not allow the Islamic State (IS) to capture any more cities.

Abadi said in a statement released on the Iraqi Council of Ministers website on Tuesday, “The Daesh terrorists and their followers are trying to draw attention away from the victories of our (Iraqi) forces."

On June 2014, IS militants seized Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city. Thousands of Iraqi troops fled the city, followed by the collapse of the army in Salahaddin, Diyala, and al-Anbar provinces.

“The Iraqi army will continue the operation of clearing cities from IS hands, along with the unity of our people and their support,” the statement read.

Last week, IS claimed responsibility for twin explosions at a café in the city of Muqdadiyah, killing and injuring dozens. On the same day, Shia militia groups attacked mosques, houses, and shops belonging to Sunnis in the city.

As a result, the Iraqi PM visited Muqdadiyah district in Diyala province on Tuesday, 90 kilometers southeast of Baghdad. “Security forces will arrest the gunmen who attacked mosques, peoples' properties and shops in Muqdadiyah,” Abadi said.

“We will not allow carrying weapons outside of the state, any arms out of this context, will be considered IS,” Abadi added, according to a press release on the PM office’s website.

On Tuesday, the Sunni bloc in the Iraqi parliament boycotted the parliament session calling it a “protest at violence committed against Sunnis.” The Sunni bloc released a statement accusing Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) of targeting Sunnis and asked the Iraqi PM to “dissolve the PMU and disarm militias.”

(Writing by Baxtiyar Goran; Editing by Karzan Sulaivany)