The Iraq-based Muslim religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called on the world community to launch international cooperation with the Baghdad government in its war on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group.

Ayatollah Sistani in a statement deplored the massacre of the Iraqi people and the destruction of Iraq's historical and religious sites by the ISIL, and said, "Such crimes proved the necessity for the international community's cooperation."

In a statement read by his representative in the Southern city of Karbala Seyed Ahmad Safi on Friday, Ayatollah Sistani also underlined the necessity for cooperation among different Iraqi groups and streams to approve the important laws, including the budget and Supreme Federal Court's laws, al-Iraqiya TV channel reported.

In relevant remarks in June, Ayatollah Sistani asserted his support for the Iraqi army and called on its soldiers to be patient and steadfast in the war on ISIL terrorists.

In a statement, Ayatollah al-Sistani expressed deep concern about the latest developments in Nineveh province, and called on the government to take the necessary measures to encounter the terrorists and to protect the civilians.

Also in a statement in July, he called for faster steps by the Iraqi officials to form a new government within the framework of the constitution.

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