Middle East Iraqi PM removes Maliki’s men from key roles

Abbadi forcibly retired two of his army generals and revoked the office of the armed forces' commander-in-chief.

Iraq's new premier faces more pressures as ISIL fighters claim territorial gains in Anbar [AFP]

Baghdad, Iraq - Repeated failures by Iraq's army commanders in their fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as well as a high casualty rate among soldiers have increased pressure on Iraq's new Prime Minister Haider al-Abbadi to take action.

On September 23, Abbadi forcibly retired two of his army generals and revoked the office of the armed forces' commander-in-chief in a move widely seen as an attempt to remedy the army's successive losses in
Anbar and Salahuddin provinces.

Last week, at least 300 Iraqi soldiers were killed or captured in the town of Saqlawiyah, west of Baghdad. They were besieged by ISIL fighters as well as anti-government Sunni tribes on September 16 for five days.