NEW YORK, September 11 (RIA Novosti) -Iraqi army needs reforms and training to fight Islamic State (IS) forces, said the US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Iraq's national plan "calls for the establishment of locally-rooted security structures that are directly integrated into the Iraqi security forces," Kerry said in Baghdad, adding that the Iraqi National Guard "will protect the population of Iraqi cities and towns, and it will also deny space for ISIL."
According to Kerry, the Iraqi National Guard will become the key to guaranteeing that the country's territorial integrity stays unthreatened.
US strategy "will be comprehensive with Iraqi forces on the ground in Iraq with an army that will be reconstituted and trained and worked on in terms of a number of different strategies through the help not just of the United States but of other countries also," Kerry added.
Iraq's army failed to stop fighters from IS – which is also known as ISIS and ISIL – when the group began a blitzkrieg attack across western and northern Iraq in June, forcing tens of thousands to flee amid religion-inspired atrocities.
US President Barack Obama is expected to unveil his strategy against IS later today.
