Iraq rebrands military campaign against Islamic State over fears of sectarianism


  • World
  • Wednesday, 27 May 2015

Members of the Iraqi army and Shi'ite fighters launch a mortar toward Islamic State militants outskirt the city of Falluja, Iraq May 19, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A campaign led by Shi'ite paramilitaries to drive Islamic State militants from Iraq's Sunni heartland was rebranded on Wednesday after criticism that the name chosen for the push was overtly sectarian.

The move was a response to fears that Iraq's reliance on Shi'ite paramilitaries to defeat Islamic State fighters, instead of the disordered and demoralised national army, could alienate Sunni Iraqis and deepen the region's sectarian divide.

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