BAGHDAD
Iraq needs more military supplies but the country does not need more soldiers to combat Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) positions in Iraq, Iraq's foreign minister said Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference in the capital, Baghdad, the foreign minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, emphasized that the Iraqi army had enough soldiers to deal with Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.
"The Iraqi army needs more weapons but does not need more soldiers. We did not demand to build new military bases in our land or more troops from the U.S.-led coalition," he said.
The U.S.-led coalition was established last month to fight against ISIL militants in Iraq and in Syria.
Iraq has suffered from escalating ethnic violence, which then morphed into a militant campaign since ISIL captured large swathes of the country's predominantly Sunni provinces in early June.
Violence instigated by ISIL militants has claimed more than 1,400 lives in August alone, and caused 1.2 million Iraqis, including Turkmen, Arabs, Christians and Ezidis, to flee their homes.
www.aa.com.tr/en
