Iraqi sheikh: Defeating ISIS could lead to the rise of more radical groups

Destroying ISIS and replacing it with nothing could lead to further chaos and brutality in Iraq, an Iraqi sheikh of a mixed Sunni and Shiite tribe warned on Wednesday.

"There is no doubt we must remove and defeat IS," Sheikh Jamal al-Dhari said. "But the absence of any political solution or national reconciliation will pave the way for more radical groups to emerge — some possibly even more radical than IS." His comments come as ISIS leaders move into Libya, where a power vacuum left in the wake of 2011's civil war and American intervention created welcoming conditions.

As the head of Peace Ambassadors For Iraq (PAFI), an organization which works to reconcile divided religious factions, al-Dhari recommends better integration of Sunni Iraqis into the political process so ISIS loses its rebel appeal. "[I]t's not about drawing Sunnis away from IS," he said, but rather "it's about creating a climate that brings Sunnis back into a reformed political process."

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