The Iraqi government may find it difficult to dissuade armed Sunni groups from fighting alongside the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) without seriously addressing Sunni concerns, including reforming the government and constitution.
The high-profile gains and statements by ISIS, the latest of which is the declaration of a caliphate, might suggest to outsiders that the organization is the only Sunni military force. Yet, many Sunni parties — be they political, tribal or religious — deny this. They assert that ISIS does not represent more than 10% to 20% of the armed forces on the ground, and that the biggest momentum of the military action belongs to the armed tribes and various other factions.