BAGHDAD — Iraq’s most influential Shiite cleric made a thinly veiled appeal to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to step down, calling upon political leaders Friday not to “cling” to their posts at the expense of political stability as lawmakers struggle to form a new government that can tackle rising violence in the country.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s comments, relayed by a representative during prayers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, came a day after Iraq’s parliament named a veteran Kurdish politician as president. The new president, Fouad Massoum, now has the important task of selecting a candidate for prime minister, who must then try to form a government.
Al-Maliki, who has led the country since 2006, is fighting for a third term. His political bloc won the most seats in April parliamentary elections but failed to get a majority, so it needs to build a coalition in order to govern.
Leaders are under pressure to form an inclusive government that can draw Sunni support away from the insurgency. But Sunnis have long accused al-Maliki of marginalizing their community, and even many of his Shiite and Kurdish allies say he has monopolized power.
Al-Sistani did not name specific leaders. Last month, however, the cleric called on al-Maliki to step aside.
“The gravity of the phase Iraq is undergoing requires the concerned parties to bear their national responsibilities, which require sacrifice and not to cling to posts,” al-Sistani’s spokesman Abdul-Mahdi al-Karbalaie said in his sermon. “This government … should enjoy broad national acceptance so that it will be able to face the current challenges, correct the many mistakes of the past, and unite the people in order to combat terrorism.”
Iraq is facing its worst crisis since the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. troops after the blitz launched last month by the al-Qaida breakaway Islamic State group that began in the north with the capture of Iraq’s second-largest city of Mosul on June 10. Since then, the group has declared a self-ruled state in cities it has seized in Iraq and Syria.
The militants had shown a measure of restraint in the initial weeks of controlling the mainly Sunni city in a bid to maintain support of the residents who had been long frustrated by mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government. But signs are beginning to emerge of efforts to impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
On Friday, the militants ordered women in Mosul to cover their faces in public and wear loose, modest clothing. Local residents described a banner with the rules posted on the wall of the Heibat Khatoun mosque. The sign also instructed women to avoid clothing with patterns or bright colors.
The militant group also distributed a statement to tailors and shops that sell or make women’s clothes informing them of their newly imposed dress code, shopkeepers said. The shopkeepers and residents spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears of reprisals from the militants.
Violence also continued Friday, with a car bomb exploding outside a mosque near the northern city of Kirkuk as Shiite worshippers were leaving after prayer services, killing eight people and wounding another 24, police and hospital officials said.
Mortar shells also slammed into houses in Taji, about 12 miles north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, killing three people and wounding seven others, officials said. The officials provided the information on condition they not be identified because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Al-Maliki has sought the help of the U.S. in dealing with the Islamic State, and more than 800 U.S. forces are in Iraq. More than half are providing security for the embassy and U.S. personnel. American service members also are involved in improving U.S. intelligence, providing security cooperation and conducting assessments of Iraqi capabilities.
President Barack Obama and his top military advisers have ruled out sending combat troops to help Iraq fight the insurgents. But the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday overwhelmingly passed a resolution Friday that would bar Obama from sending forces to Iraq in a “sustained combat role” without congressional approval.
Friday’s legislation was approved by a 370-40 vote after lawmakers emphasized the need to reassert what they argued is their constitutional control over authorizing military force. The four representatives from Arkansas, all Republicans, voted against the measure.
“This resolution makes one clear statement,” said its sponsor, Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. “If the president decides we should further involve our military in Iraq, he needs to work with Congress to authorize it.”
Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The Associated Press.