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Grand Shia Cleric calls on followers to defend Bagdad

June 14, 2014 at 2:09 pm

Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called on Shia followers on Friday to take up arms to defend the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, in the face of the Sunni rebels.

The call, which was reported by many of the local Iraqi and international mass media, was announced by Al-Sistani’s representative Sheikh Abdul-Mehdi al-Karbalai during the Friday prayer in the city of Karbala.

Meanwhile, in the UK, The Guardian newspaper has reported that Washington is urgently considering air strikes on the jihadists. It quoted senior US officials as saying that an air campaign was under serious discussion, possibly targeting fighters not just in Iraq but in Syria.

US President Barack Obama is expected to make a decision in the “days ahead”.

In the region, there are reports that Iran has dispatched a senior military official to Baghdad.

Major-General Qassem Suleimani of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards arrived in Baghdad to meet militia leaders and tribal chiefs in control of the Iraqi capital. He was previously named by The Guardian as the Iranian general who secretly runs Iraq.

On his part, President Obama said the crisis is a “wake up call” for Iraqi troops and implored them to do everything to defend their cities.