International Business Times: A co-founder of the Islamic Army of Iraq, the Sunni group fighting alongside the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), has issued an ultimatum to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s regime that the insurgents will storm Baghdad if he does not resign.

“If Maliki does not step down, then there is no doubt that we are moving on Baghdad,” Sheikh Ahmed al-Dabash told the Daily Telegraph. “We will go all the way.”

Dabash, 47, said that the group does not share the extremist views of Isis but they have a common goal of overthrowing Maliki’s Shia government.

“We are here to fight any occupation, whether American or Iranian. We have a common enemy with Isis now, and for this we are fighting together,” he said.

Al-Dabash fought against the 2003 US invasion as part of a Sunni insurgency and went on to form the Islamic Army of Iraq to fight the Allied troops which made him a key US terrorist target.

“Maliki must first be deposed,” said the commander. “Then we demand the fragmentation of Iraq into three autonomous regions, with Sunnis, Shia and Kurds sharing resources equally. [Continue reading…]