Top cleric calls for new government in Iraq

FILE - This Dec. 3, 2011 file photo shows Iraq’s Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki talks during an interview with The Associated Press in Baghdad, Iraq. The prospect of the U.S. military returning to the fight in Iraq has turned congressional hawks into doves. Lawmakers who eagerly voted to authorize military force 12 years ago to oust Saddam Hussein and destroy weapons of mass destruction that were never found now harbor doubts that air strikes will turn back insurgents threatening Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government and Baghdad.

Hadi Mizban, File, Associated Press

1 of 2

Al-Qaeda inspired militants stand with captured Iraqi Army Humvee at a checkpoint outside Beiji refinery, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 19, 2014. The fighting at Beiji comes as Iraq has asked the U.S. for airstrikes targeting the militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. While U.S. President Barack Obama has not fully ruled out the possibility of launching airstrikes, such action is not imminent in part because intelligence agencies have been unable to identify clear targets on the ground, officials said.(AP Photo)

The Associated Press

2 of 2

BAGHDAD — The spiritual leader of Iraq's Shiite majority has called for the creation of a new, "effective" government, increasing pressure on the country's premier as an offensive by Sunni militants rages on.

The call Friday by Gran Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani contained thinly veiled criticism that Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in office since 2006, was to blame for the nation's crisis over the blitz by the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Al-Sistani's message was delivered by his representative Ahmed al-Safi in the holy city of Karbala.

He said the future government "should open new horizons toward a better future for all Iraqis."

Al-Maliki's Shiite-led government long has faced criticism of discriminating against Iraq's Sunni and Kurdish populations.

Next Up In U.S. and world

Fed raises interest rates by 0.5%, the highest rise since 2000

Here are the 14 inductees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Why was President Biden talking about Utah’s 2002 Winter Games at the White House?

CDC reinstates mask recommendation for planes, trains

While U.S. hits new job quitting record, this man set his own record — 84 years at the same company

The U.S. housing market is historically overvalued. Moody’s says these cities may see prices drop up to 10%