Rouhani: Iran Supporting Fight Against Terrorism Across Iraq
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says Tehran supports the fight against terrorism in all regions of Iraq.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always stood by all Iraqi people” regardless of their religious, sectarian and tribal affiliations and “supports unity, integrity, security and stability across Iraq,” President Rouhani said in a meeting with visiting Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri on Wednesday.
The Iranian nation is now standing by the Iraqi nation, Rouhani further stated, adding, “In every region of Iraq that [Iraqis] fight terrorists, we support the resistance of the Iraqi people and it makes no difference [to us] which tribe or sect is in the majority in that region.”
The Iranian president further noted that unity and integrity among the Iraqi tribes and sects have been cemented more than ever after terrorist attacks by the Takfiri ISIL militants.
Rouhani further lauded Iraq’s victories against the Takfiri militants, describing as “praiseworthy” the Iraqi nation and army’s resistance against terrorists and aggressors.
The Iraqi official, for his part, stressed Iraq’s willingness to boost its relations with Iran, saying Baghdad and Tehran have numerous common interests and ties.
Key steps have been taken in Iraq today to cement unity in a bid to fight terrorism and the ISIL, Jabouri said, adding that terrorists will not be allowed to sow discord among the Iraqi people.
He stressed that terrorism poses a threat to the whole region, urging a collective effort to counter the scourge.
The ISIL militants have carried out heinous atrocities in Iraq and Syria, including mass executions and beheadings of people.
Iranian Speaker Urges Regional Countries’ Collective Fight against Terrorism
On the other hand, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani called on the regional states to boost interactions and cooperation to defeat terrorism and establish full security.
In separate messages on Wednesday, Larijani condoled with Pakistani National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Senate Chairman Seyed Nayyer Hussein Bokhari on the sad event of massacre of a large number of pupils in Peshawar by Taliban.
He said that the sad event reminded again the danger of terrorist groups’ existence for the world community’s security and stability and hopefully in the shadow of cooperation and constructive interactions between the regional countries and the world nations a fierce fight against terrorism will be established against the malicious phenomenon.
On Tuesday, witnesses described how gunmen went from classroom to classroom, shooting children, after a huge blast shook the Army Public School.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack as retaliation for a major military offensive in the region, saying militants had been ordered to shoot older students.
Police said that a bloody Taliban raid on an army-run school in Northwest Pakistan ended with all six attackers dead.
The assault on the school in the city of Peshawar killed at least 130 people, most of them students, according to officials.
“The combat operation is over, the security personnel are carrying out clearance operation and hopefully they will clear the building in a while,” Police Official Abdullah Khan said.
“Dead bodies of six terrorists have been found in the building.”
Iraqi officials confirm death of ISIL top militants
In the other context, Iraqi officials have confirmed the death of a key aide to the ISIL group leader and one of his military chiefs in the US-led coalition airstrikes in northern Iraq.
The airstrikes killed a confidante of Ibrahim Samarrai, who is known by the alias Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and one of his military chiefs. A third militant, described as a mid-level leader, was also killed in the airstrikes.
Iraqi officials also said that their operations are beginning to weaken the terrorist group’s leadership structure in Iraq.
Earlier, US officials also confirmed that two senior ISIL leaders were killed in coalition airstrikes in north of Iraq.
The ISIL militants, who have seized swathes of land in Iraq, have been carrying out horrific acts of violence against all communities in the Arab country.
The US-led coalition began targeting positions held by the Takfiri ISIL terrorists in Iraq in August but the raids have so far failed to dislodge the ISIL.
On Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said that the Iraqi security forces have succeeded to push away ISIL militants in several provinces but called on the international community to work closer with Baghdad in the fight against the Takfiri group.
PRESS T.V, FNA
R.S