On Friday, Iraqi officials said that people were rushing to recruitment centers to sign up for the fight against the Takfiri militants.
The volunteers consist of people from all ages and include retired officers.
The development came after senior religious and political leaders called on the Iraqi nation to take up arms and defend their country against militants.
On June 10, the militants took control of Nineveh province, including its provincial capital Mosul, in a lightning advance, forcing “over 500,000 people in and around the city” to flee, according to Geneva-based International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The militants have vowed to continue their raid towards the capital Baghdad.
Also on Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed concerns over summary executions and extrajudicial killings by the so-called ISIL, adding that hundreds were probably killed and thousands injured by the violence.
