Iraqi Vice President Nouri Al-Maliki said that ISIS was created by countries in the region as a conspiracy designed to lead Iraq to partition. "The fall of Mosul was a conspiracy by forces that included Kurds, Naqshbandis, the Baath Party, tribal rebels, and muftis, as well as Americans, who were sitting there plotting," said Al-Maliki, who further warned that if the country did not thwart Kurdistan's efforts to secede, it would face further calls for partition. The interview aired on France 24 on October 13.
Nouri Al-Maliki: "ISIS was created in order to lead [Iraq] to partition. It was designed in Erbil, in a command center with clear characteristics. I warned about this time and again. It was designed in order to arrive at where we are today. While still fighting ISIS, we were confronted with the new crisis of the partition. I fear that before we terminate this crisis, we will face new calls for partition in other areas – in the west or the south. This will happen if we fail to thwart Kurdistan's attempt to establish a state.
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"ISIS was [artificially] established. It is not me who said this. Trump said that Obama created ISIS. ISIS was created in Erbil by countries in the region.
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"The fall of Mosul and other cities was, as I've said before, a conspiracy by forces that included Kurds, Naqshbandis, the Baath Party, tribal rebels, and muftis, as well as Americans, who were sitting there plotting. There was no fighting in Mosul, but rather, a sectarian operation. They told the Sunni and Kurdish soldiers to withdraw. Thus, Mosul fell without a battle. It was a big conspiracy."