"The situation in Iraq is dangerous and this is because of the the behaviour of the ruling regime," the leader of the Tehran-based Supreme Assembly for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SAIRI) said in a statement.

He called on supporters in Iraq to "cooperate and coordinate with national and Islamic forces that are in Iraq to help the people," and "set up committees in various parts of Iraq."

"These committees must be made up of religious scholars, academics and tribes. They must assume the responsibilities of local offices in various areas and provide the necessary services to the people.

"Each of those committees must be given its own zone of responsibility," the statement said.

He also appealed for Iraqis to cooperate with their "mujahedin brothers in every part of Iraq".

"Fulfilling their historic duty of defending the rights of the Iraqi people, these mujahedin need your cooperation," Hakim said, in an apparent reference to the al-Badr Brigade, the several thousand-strong armed wing of

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