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Iraq lawmakers urge quick picks for key ministries

Iraq's new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, right, and Ammar al-Hakim, front, the leader of the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq, left, during the session to approve the new government in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. Iraq's parliament officially named Haider al-Abadi the country's new prime minister late Monday and approved most of his proposed Cabinet amid calls by the Arab League for its members to combat the Sunni militant group violently advancing across Iraq and Syria.(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, Pool)
Iraq's new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, right, and Ammar al-Hakim, front, the leader of the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq, left, during the session to approve the new government in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. Iraq's parliament officially named Haider al-Abadi the country's new prime minister late Monday and approved most of his proposed Cabinet amid calls by the Arab League for its members to combat the Sunni militant group violently advancing across Iraq and Syria.(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, Pool)

By Associated Press 1 min read

BAGHDAD (AP) – Iraqi lawmakers are urging the country’s new prime minister to quickly assign the critical posts of defense and interior minister which will spearhead domestic efforts to combat the violent Sunni militant advance.

Addressing lawmakers late Monday, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi requested an additional week for the selection of these positions.

Sunni lawmaker Hamid al-Mutlaq expressed Tuesday his concern over the vacant posts, calling on al-Abadi’s government to “prove its credibility and good intentions.” Salim al-Muslimawi, a Shiite lawmaker from Babil province, said any further delay in naming a defense and interior minister risks making the government appear weak and divided.

The United States launched airstrikes in Iraq on Aug. 8 in hopes of boosting the waning efforts of Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting militants with the Islamic State group.