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 "We are still in the very early steps; some of these steps might
be painful, but we must endure," Obeidi said in a televised address
on the national holiday Armed Forces Day.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has sacked several dozen commanders
and told Obeidi to lead a probe into corruption within the Iraqi
military after Islamic State seized vast swathes of territory from
Iraqi security forces last summer.
Since then the hardline militants have been pushed out of several
districts around Baghdad and near the Iranian border.
Shi'ite militias, Kurdish peshmerga forces and U.S.-led air strikes
have played a leading role in Islamic State's military reverses, but
the Iraqi army will be needed in the campaign to recapture and hold
the remaining territory under its control.
 "Changing some military leaders will be the first step towards
building a strong army and we will make changes in the entire
military pyramid down to the last soldier," Obeidi said on the
national holiday commemorating the 94th anniversary of modern Iraqi
military's founding.
Rampant corruption was seen as one of the main reasons why the Iraqi
army failed to stop Islamic State in battle. Many units were short
of weapons or had soldiers listed on paper who were not actually
present in the field.
Currently, several Iraqi security officials estimate the number of
functioning military forces at between seven and nine divisions.
They caution even those divisions are not all operating at full
strength.
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The Iraqi army had at least 14 divisions on paper before Islamic
State toppled the north's biggest city of Mosul and soldiers
deserted en masse.
Obeidi also vowed on Tuesday that the Iraqi forces would soon retake
the lands they lost in northern Salahuddin and Nineveh provinces.
Obeidi highlighted the importance of Mosul.
"We will liberate it with the hard efforts of our armed forces,
volunteers and with the aid of our allies.”
Earlier in the day, Abadi and Obeidi placed a garland of flowers at
Baghdad's Monument to the Unknown Soldier.
(Reporting by Saif Hameed, Ned Parker; Editing by Dominic Evans)
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