Ayatollah Sistani: Takfiris Must Be Expelled Out of Iraq
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iraq's top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali al-Sistani said Takfiri (extremist) terrorists who have been waging an insurgency against the Iraqi government must be expelled out of the country before it is too late.
If terrorists of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are not "fought and expelled from Iraq, everyone will regret it tomorrow, when regret has no meaning," Sistani's spokesman announced on his behalf in the holy city of Karbala.
Abdul Mehdi al-Karbalai said Iraqis of all religions and communities had to band together to fight insurgents, led by ISIL but including other groups, such as loyalists of late dictator Saddam Hussein.
Karbalai said in televised remarks that a previous call by Sistani for Iraqis to join the armed forces "was for all citizens, without specifying a religion," clearly outlining a cross-sectarian push, AFP reported.
"The goal was to get ready to face the Takfiri group called ISIL, which now has the upper hand... in what is happening in many provinces," he added.
Reports say thousands of volunteer forces join the armed forces on a daily scale to help eradicate the ISIL terrorist group. They receive necessary training, and are equipped with military uniform, weapons, and ammunition.
Tens of thousands of volunteer forces have taken up arms to fight against the ISIL following Sistani’s fatwa.
Grand Ayatollah Sistani, who rarely appears in public, is highly influential in the Shiite Muslim world and is adored by millions. Around 1.5 million Iraqi volunteers from all ages including retired army officers have volunteered to join battles against the militants of the al-Qaeda-linked ISIL.
