Sunni militants have seized an Iraqi crossing on the border with Syria after a daylong battle in which they killed some 30 Iraqi troops, security officials said on Saturday.
The capture of the Qaim border crossing deals a further blow to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government, which has struggled to push back against Islamic extremists and allied militants who have seized large swaths of the country, including the second largest city Mosul, and who have vowed to march on Baghdad.
Police and army officials said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and allied militants seized the crossing near the border town of Qaim, about 320 kilometres west of Baghdad, after battling Iraqi troops all day yesterday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to media, said people were now crossing back and forth freely.
The fall of the border crossing came as Mr. al-Maliki faces mounting pressure to form an inclusive government or step aside, with both a top Shia cleric and the White House strongly hinting he is in part to blame for the worst crisis since US troops withdrew from the country at the end of 2011.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most respected voice for Iraq’s Shiite majority, on Friday joined calls for Mr. al-Maliki to reach out to the Kurdish and Sunni minorities a day after President Barack Obama challenged him to create a leadership representative of all Iraqis.
Calling for a dialogue between the political coalitions that won seats in the April 30 parliamentary election, al-Sistani said it was imperative that they form “an effective government that enjoys broad national support, avoids past mistakes and opens new horizons toward a better future for all Iraqis.”
Al-Sistani is deeply revered by Iraq’s majority Shias, and his critical words could force Mr. al-Maliki, who emerged from relative obscurity in 2006 to lead the country, to step down.
On Thursday, Mr. Obama stopped short of calling for Mr. al-Maliki to resign, but his carefully worded comments did all but that.
“Only leaders that can govern with an inclusive agenda are going to be able to truly bring the Iraqi people together and help them through this crisis,” Mr. Obama said.
Mr. Al-Maliki’s State of Law bloc won the most seats in the April vote, but his hopes to retain his job are in doubt, with rivals challenging him from within the broader Shiite alliance. In order to govern, his bloc must first form a majority coalition in the new 328-seat legislature, which must meet by June 30.
Nearly three years after he heralded the end of America’s war in Iraq, Mr. Obama announced on Thursday he was deploying up to 300 military advisers to help quell the insurgency. They join some 275 troops in and around Iraq to provide security and support for the U.S. Embassy and other American interests.
But Mr. Obama has been adamant that U.S. troops would not be returning to combat.
