Iraq recalls its ambassador in Jordan

Iraq decided to call its ambassador in Amman Jawad Abbas back for consultations, the statement read, without giving more details.

Analysts say this move could be seen as a sign of protest after Iraqi Sunni leaders held a meeting in Jordan and described the current insurgency in Iraq as a "popular revolt."

Iraqi Sunni leaders in exile on Wednesday downplayed a Sunni Islamist uprising led by Islamic State militants, portraying the violence as a fight-back against the incumbent Shiite-led government.

The IS fighters led a surprise offensive that started in the Iraqi city of Mosul on earlier last month, and has since swept large chunks of the country's northern and western provinces, most of which are Sunni-predominantly areas.

The meeting in Jordan was attended by about 300 Sunni clerics, tribal leaders, insurgent commanders and businessmen, during which the attendees also made the calls to endorse "legitimate revolt" against the government.

In 2006 and 2007, Iraq was almost torn apart when the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra, north of Baghdad, triggered a wave of sectarian slaughter between Shiite militias and al-Qaida- allied Sunni militants.