Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki has called on the security forces to stand firm in battles with militants in Anbar, amid criticism of the government’s handling of the crisis in Iraq’s largest province. In his weekly address on Wednesday, Maliki said soldiers and police should ignore “disorderly voices” in the fighting to reclaim the city of Fallujah, which the government has been attempting to recapture from insurgents for five months. Those “voices” appeared to include members of the Al-Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Maliki said: “There should not be any consideration given to the terrorists under any pretext,” and called for the “punishment of those who covered up, cooperated with or remained silent about this phenomenon . . . Laws must be complemented with maximum levels of resolve and force in the face of Al-Qaeda.” Maliki’s opponents in the Iraqi parliament have kept up their criticism […]