Iraq PM warns Islamic State might erupt again somewhere else

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that it’s a worry for everyone that Islamic State has “this unfortunate ability to recruit young people very quickly.”

Three days after declaring victory over the Islamic State group, Iraq’s prime minister warns that the group’s extremists might “erupt again somewhere else” without international cooperation in combatting the militants.

An Iraqi man waves his national flag in Baghdad's Tahrir Square on December 10, 2017, during a gathering celebrating the end of the three-year war against the Islamic State (IS) group. (AFP Photo)

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told reporters Tuesday that “we have managed to break them” in Iraq, but added that it’s a worry for everyone that IS has “this unfortunate ability to recruit young people very quickly.”

He said there must be an effort to “remove their grassroots in the region.”

Al-Abadi made the comments at a news conference on the sidelines of a climate summit outside Paris,

He called for continued international cooperation in training Iraqi forces and providing logistical and intelligence support.

Al-Abadi declared victory in the more than three-year fight against IS in a national address Saturday.