Iraqi militia leader 'meets British ambassador'

Iraqi Badr militia leader Hadi al-Amiri said that he met with the British ambassador in Baghdad, Frank Baker and a senior British delegation to discuss the attack on Mosul.

The meeting came just hours after a similar meeting between leaders of the militias and a group of representatives in Iraq.

"The popular crowd obeys the orders of Commander in Chief of the Armed forces Haider al-Abadi and will participate in the battle for the liberation of Mosul along with security forces and other armed factions," Amiri said in a press statement.

"The battle will not be easy with the massive presence of civilians in Nineveh," he added, saying that the Islamic State uses civilians as human shields.  

He also criticised recent remarks from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who proposed to extend the presence of Turkish troops in the country.

Amiri stressed that the battle of Mosul is Iraqi and rejected any presence of foreign troops during the battle for Mosul.  

"Religious leaders support national reconciliation projects and despite the harm that Iraqis have endured, they are ready to forget the past and open a new page of relations, to build an Iraq away from sectarian ideas".

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said powerful Iraqi Shia militias, including the Badr militia, were behind revenge attacks against Sunnis following Islamic State attacks.