Iraqi militia leader says U.S. not serious about fighting Islamic State

Iraq's Shi'ite militia leader Qais al-Khazali, the leader of Asaib al-Haq, speaks to Reuters during an interview in Baghdad in this January 4, 2012 file photo. REUTERS/Kareem Raheem

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - The head of one of Iraq's fiercest Shi'ite militias called the U.S.-led coalition's campaign against Islamic State ineffective and accused Washington of lacking the will to uproot radical Sunni jihadis controlling large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Qais al-Khazali, leader of Iranian-backed paramilitary group Asaib Ahl al-Haq, said the anti-IS campaign had failed because of an American agenda to redraw the map of the Middle East along new borders.