Iraq PM pushes political solution to militant offensive

June 27, 2014 03:08

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki conceded today that political measures are needed alongside military action to repel a Sunni insurgent offensive that is threatening to tear Iraq apart.

He spoke as British Foreign Secretary William Hague urged Iraqi leaders to unite in the face of the onslaught, led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), that has killed nearly 1,100 people and displaced more than half a million more.

Iraqi forces launched a helicopter-borne assault aimed at opening the way to retaking militant-held Tikrit, while the autonomous Kurdish region further staked its claim to the disputed city of Kirkuk.

Powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr meanwhile risked ratcheting up already-high sectarian tensions by vowing to "shake the ground" under the feet of the advancing militants.

Later today, a suicide bomb in a predominantly Shiite area of Baghdad killed 19 people.

"We should proceed in two parallel tracks," Maliki told Hague, on a surprise visit to Iraq.

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