Maliki Says Iraqi Army Has Retaken Initiative


TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stressed that the country's army retook the initiative and advancing towards the ISIL strongholds.

In a speech addressing volunteer fighters on Sunday at a military camp in Mahmoudiya, 30 kilometers south of Baghdad, the Iraqi PM warned terrorists of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) that they have nowhere to hide, media reports said.

"We have retaken the initiative and here we are advancing to defeat them with you and with your brothers in the armed forces and with all those who stood by the will of the Iraqi people.”

“We started to march towards them. There will be no place for them to hide. Our slogan and your slogan should be they have no place to hide,” Maliki added.

According to local officials, some 8000 tribal fighters have joined the fight against the Takfiri militants in Nineveh.