BAGHDAD, July 5 (agencies): Militants may have overrun large swathes of Iraq and he might face eroding domestic and international backing, but Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki remains many Iraqis' top choice to lead the country.
Experts have cast doubt on the incumbent's chances of keeping his post as factions struggle to form a government after April polls, but sectarian allegiance may yet rescue the Shiite Arab leader, and a brutal onslaught by Sunni militants might have even strengthened his supporters' resolve.
Posters of the heavy-jowled leader still crowd Baghdad's skyline and checkpoints after April's parliamentary election, which his State of Law coalition dominated despite a litany of attacks in the run-up to the poll.
Some Iraqis are also loathe to see the prime minister go at such a critical time, with many not blaming him for Iraq's misfortunes in any case.
There is no obvious consensus candidate to replace him, or guarantee his successor will not face the same pressures that have contributed to the current political deadlock.
Another report adds: Jihadists who overran Mosul last month have demolished ancient shrines and mosques in and around the historic northern Iraqi city, residents and social media posts said Saturday.
At least four shrines to Sunni Arab or Sufi figures have been demolished, while six Shiite mosques, or husseiniyahs, have also been destroyed, across militant-held parts of northern Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital.
Meanwhile: Prominent Sunni Muslim scholar Yusef al-Qaradawi said Saturday that the declaration of an Islamic caliphate by jihadists fighting the governments in Syria and Iraq violates sharia law.
Last Sunday, the jihadists of the Islamic State group declared a caliphate in areas they control in Iraq and Syria and ordered Muslims worldwide to pledge allegiance to their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, under the name "caliph Ibrahim".
Qatar-based Qaradawi, seen as a spiritual guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in his native Egypt, said in a statement that the declaration "is void under sharia."
