Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki vows fight for third term

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki says he will "never give up" on his bid for a third term in office despite foreign and domestic pressure, the BBC reported.

He said he would remain a "soldier" in the fight against Sunni militants.

Mr Maliki's alliance of Shia parties won parliamentary elections in April.

However he is seen by many in Iraq as having exacerbated the crisis in Iraq with policies favouring his own Shia community while marginalising the minority Sunni Arabs.

The US has led appeals to Mr Maliki and other prominent Iraqi political leaders to rise above sectarian and ethnic divisions.

At the same time, some US Congressional leaders - including Republican John McCain - have openly called for Mr Maliki to be ousted, viewing him as unsalvageable.

Mr Maliki earlier rejected demands for a national unity government to help counter the offensive by jihadist-led Sunni rebels, calling instead for political forces to reconcile.

The rebels have occupied swathes of northern and western Iraq, declaring a large region straddling Iraq and Syria a caliphate or Islamic state.