Al-Maliki blamed for fall of Mosul

News agencies on Sunday quoted a number of members of the Iraqi parliamentary committee of investigation into the fall of Mosul who confirmed that al-Maliki's name was among those they intend to refer to court.

The report detailing the committee's findings was presented to the parliamentary speaker, Salim al-Juburi, who said he would pass it on to Iraq's prosecutor general for possible legal action.

"No one is above the law and accountability to the people," Juburi said a statement shortly after receiving the report. "The judiciary will punish perpetrators and delinquents," he added.

According to the Reuters news agency, other officials named in the report include the former governor of Mosul, Atheel al-Nujaifi, former acting Defense Minister Sadoun al-Dulaimi, the former head of the army, General Babakir Zebari, and Lieutenant General Mahdi al-Gharrawi, the former operational commander of Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital.

Reuters quoted lawmaker Muhsin Sadoun as saying the report had been approved by 16 of the committee's 24 members.

The release of the report comes a week after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi launched a sweeping campaign against corruption and mismanagement, which he said had rendered the country virtually ungovernable.

Capture of Mosul a 'turning point' for 'IS'

"Islamic State" (IS) militants launched an offensive on Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city on June 9 of last year and overran it a day later. A number of Iraqi army divisions collapsed during the initial assault and fled, abandoning weapons and other equipment, which was then captured by the jihadists.

The fall of Mosul is regarded as a turning point in last year's push by IS fighters from Syria into Iraq, where they now control large swathes of territory in the north and west of the country.

Court-martial over withdrawal from Ramadi

Earlier on Sunday, Abadi's office announced that he had cleared the way for the military prosecution of senior commanders responsible for the fall of Ramadi three months ago.

IS fighters took control of Ramadi in May, after Iraqi forces had held them at bay for more than a year. The statement released by Abadi's office said he had approved "decisions of the investigative commission on the withdrawal of the Anbar Operations Command and units attached to it from the city of Ramadi."

pfd/sgb (Reuters, AFP)