Iraqi PM Abadi renews vows to follow Islamic State everywhere, rejects negotiations
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi addresses the media in Ankara December 25, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY – Tags: POLITICS) – RTR4J8X5
In his speech on Saturday on the anniversary of the Great Iraqi Revolution, Haidar al-Abadi said “no one has the right to waste the accomplishment made after we achieved victory against all challenges that faced us.”
He also called for “unity so the enemies cannot divide us.”
“Like we achieved victory and liberated our land through being united, we need unity during the coming phase,” he said adding “we will follow the remaining cells of terrorism and kill them. We will follow them everywhere, in the mountains and deserts.”
Abadi also said “those who think that we could negotiate with Islamic State, are imagining. We did not follow that in Iraq.We refused it in the past and we refuse it today. Those [IS members] need to be killed.”
On Friday, Abadi’s office announced carrying out death sentences against 12 convicts over charges of terrorism.
On Thursday, Abadi ordered security operations in response to the recent kidnapping and execution of eight Iraqis by Islamic State militants. This came after the Security Media Center, a media arm of the Joint Operations Command, said on Wednesday that troops found the dead bodies on the Baghdad-Kirkuk road.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced, in December, gaining control on all the territories that were captured by Islamic State, since 2014. However, the group still has dormant cells, through which it carries out attacks, across Iraq like it used to do before 2014.