http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=054898DE-9025-0649-B24C4DDBB1E6DE54Thousands of Iraqi Shiites answer cleric's call to arms, mobilize to fight Sunni militants
By: Associated Press
June 14, 2014 07:27 AM EDT
BAGHDAD — Thousands of Shiite men from Baghdad and across southern Iraq are answering an urgent call to arms, joining security forces to fight the Islamic militants who have captured large stretches of territory north of the capital and now threaten Samarra and other cities with revered religious shrines.
The mobilization has a clear sectarian slant. State-run television has been airing a constant flow of nationalist songs and interviews with troops vowing to crush the militants, while other broadcasts have been showing clips of Iraq's top Shiite clerics and shots of Shiite shrines.
But Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki denies the call to arms is directed against Sunnis, saying it's meant to protect the country and its holy shrines. He's calling for the unity of all Iraqis.
The crisis has sent food prices soaring in Baghdad as army troops go house-to-house searching for militants and weapons in neighborhoods close to government installations.
Today, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant gained more territory. A local official in Diyala province says the Sunni militants seized a small town about 60 miles north of Baghdad after Iraqi security forces pulled out.