BAGHDAD — Iraq’s most important Shiite religious leader Ali Al-Sistani endorsed international intervention against Islamic State in the country on Friday, following US and French air strikes, but called for strict guidelines. “Even if Iraq is in need of help from its brothers and friends in fighting black terrorism, maintaining the sovereignty and independence of its decisions is of the highest importance,” Sistani’s spokesman Sheikh Abdul Mehdi Karbala’i said during a Friday sermon.

Sistani speaks for millions of Iraqis and has a worldwide following. Meanwhile, bombings in and near the Iraqi capital and a blast in the northern city of Kirkuk killed at least 22 people on Friday, security and medical officials said. In Baghdad, a car bomb exploded in the Shiite-majority Karrada district, killing at least eight people, while a roadside bomb in the Bayaa area killed four and wounded at least 11. South of the capital, another car bomb near a market in Mahmudiyah killed at least two people. — Reuters