Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali al-Sistani threw his weight behind the new prime minister and said the transition was a rare opportunity to resolve political and security crises

Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali al-Sistani threw his weight behind the new prime minister and said the transition was a rare opportunity to resolve political and security crises.

Underscoring the urgency of containing a sectarian conflict fueled by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group, Sistani urged the military to hoist only Iraq's flag to avoid factionalism, according to Reuters.