Maliki: Militants Have Nowhere to Hide

Local Editor

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stressed that the Iraqi army is advancing toward the strongholds of the so-called "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" [ISIL], warning that the Takfiri militants have nowhere to hide, as he said in the Iraqi city of Mahmoudiya on Sunday.

In a speech addressing volunteer fighters at a military camp in Mahmoudiya on Sunday, 30 kilometers south of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, al-Maliki warned the "ISIL" militants that they have nowhere to hide.

"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," al-Maliki stated. 

"We started to march toward them. There will be no place for them to hide. Our slogan and your slogan should be they have no place to hide," he added.

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

Moreover, security forces and local tribesmen foiled an attack by the "ISIL" militants in the city of Tal Afar in Nineveh Province, killing at least 18 militants and destroying five vehicles.

An Iraqi government spokesman has said that nearly 300 militants have been killed in clashes with Iraqi forces over the past 24 hours.

The "ISIL" militants have vowed to continue their raid toward the capital Baghdad, but their advance has been slowed down as Iraqi military forces and volunteer fighters have begun confronting them on several fronts, halting the militants' advance.

Sources: News Agencies, Edited by website team