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75% of the Iraqi army left the Anbar province

January 22, 2015 at 3:17 pm

Nearly 75 per cent of the Iraqi army has left the Anbar province, a member of parliament revealed yesterday, calling on the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Haider Al-Abadi to investigate the situation which he described as “serious”.

Adel Mahlawi said during a press conference on Tuesday that the “Anbar Operations Command is fighting with only 25 per cent of its officially registered soldiers.” He urged Defence Minister Khalid Al-Obeidi to visit the province and look into the battles there where the main fighting against the Islamic State (ISIS) is taking place.

The Iraqi defence minister called earlier to “build a professional army far from nepotism” stressing on the need to “eliminate sectarianism from within the military”, and to select “professional and fair soldiers”.

In a statement the defence ministry said: “Al-Obeidi discussed with a US military delegation the details related to arming the Iraqi army and supporting it with all it needs to continue the war on terrorism, and strengthen the bonds of cooperation between the Iraqi people.”