AP Interview: Iraqi deputy PM appeals for more aid from US-led coalition to combat IS threat

FILE- In this April 26, 2014 file photo, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq talks with The Associated Press in Baghdad, Iraq. On Monday, Feb. 9, 2015, al-Mutlaq told The Associated Press on the sidelines of a conference in Dubai, that the U.S.-led coalition helping Iraq push back Islamic State group militants is not doing enough to match the scale of the threat, and he called for increased firepower to defeat the extremists. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File) (The Associated Press)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A senior Iraqi official says the contributions from the U.S.-led coalition helping Baghdad push back Islamic State militants are not sufficient to meet the threat posed by the extremists.

Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq told The Associated Press on Monday that the coalition "should be more serious" in its fight against the group.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Dubai, al-Mutlaq says Iraq needs more advanced weapons to adequately combat the militants.

He also says there should be more airstrikes against the IS group, which has seized a third of both Iraq and Syria.

Al-Mutlaq is one of the most senior figures from Iraq's Sunni minority in Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's Shiite-led government.

Last month al-Abadi said the Iraq government feels very alone in the fight against IS.