Iraqi President appoints new prime minister

IRBIL. KAZINFORM Iraq's president appointed a new prime minister on Monday, further complicating the country's intense power struggle amid a dire humanitarian crisis and a militant threat strong enough to draw U.S. air power back to the fray.

President Fuad Masum appointed Haider al-Abadi as the country's prime minister, replacing a defiant Nuri al-Maliki with a member of his own party, CNN reports. It wasn't clear whether al-Maliki would peacefully relinquish power or what impact the situation would have on the country, which is already torn by a threat from Islamist militants so brutal that they crucify people and brag about it online. "I've never seen Iraq so bad -- ever," CNN national security analyst and former CIA operative Bob Baer said Monday, before the latest political developments.