The Iraqi Ministry of Defence said Thursday (August 15th) it will file a lawsuit against a leader with the Iran-backed Harakat al-Nujaba militia after he called for disbanding the Iraqi army.

Youssef al-Nasseri, secretary-general of Harakat al-Nujaba's scholars Shura council, has called for disbanding the army and described its members as mercenaries, it said.

"We call on the Iraqi people to stand behind all the branches of the Iraqi army and to hold to account all those who insult our heroic army," the ministry said in a statement, stressing the big role the army has played in liberating Iraq from terror groups.

The statement confirmed that the army will sue al-Nasseri for calling to disband the army and for using language "unworthy of the heroism of the army" on satellite TV.

"The military institution is the safety valve and impregnable wall which the Iraqi state relies on and which the Iraqi people across the spectrum take shield behind," it added.

The Iraq army is a "national army that has not raised any flag except that of the great Iraq", it said.