Maliki: I will Never Give Up My Candidacy For a Third Term

Local Editor

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he will not yield a bid for a third term as premier to support the country and those who voted for him, as he said in a statement on Friday.

In a statement on Friday, al-Maliki said the position of Iraq's premier is the right of his State of Law Coalition which has gathered most of the parliament's seats.

He stated, "I will never give up my candidacy for the post of prime minister."

"I will remain a soldier, defending the interests of Iraq and its people, in the face of the terrorists and its allies...who are executing a dubious outside agenda," he added.

Violence in Iraq escalated after militants from the so-called "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" [ISIL] took control of Mosul in a lightning advance on June 10, which was followed by the fall of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers [87 miles] northwest of the capital, Baghdad.

Moreover, soldiers of the Iraqi army have been engaged in heavy fighting with the militants in different fronts.

Sources: News Agencies, Edited by website team