Iraqi president stresses need for national army

Iraqi President Fuad Masum has stressed the need to build a national and powerful Iraqi army which protects all Iraqis without discrimination.

The president made his remarks during a meeting held yesterday with new Defence Minister Irfan Al-Hayali and a delegation of high-level military officials to discuss the ongoing preparations to liberate the area west of the city of Mosul in the Nineveh province.

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Al-Hayali said that the Iraqi soldiers in the area were determined to defeat Daesh, eliminate terrorist groups and restore security in all parts of the country.

Since the fall of former leader Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iraq has witnessed sectarian violence with reports of Shia and Christian groups torturing Sunnis in some area of the country.