Thousands of mostly young Shiite men are signing up to volunteer to defend the Iraqi government form an al-Qaida splinter group.

"Those terrorists must be driven out, and by God's will, they will be driven out," one volunteer said to CNN.

Top religious and political leaders in Iraq asked for able-bodied men of fighting age to help combat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which was around 40 miles from the gates of Baghdad.

"Mosul, Tal Afar, Falluja, wherever, by God's will, we will be ready to defend any location," 23-year-old Ahmed said at a recruiting station in central Baghdad. "What's happening is sabotage."

ISIS' rapid advance into Iraq has been aided by Sunni fighters who feel marginalized by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the Shiite-dominated government. The divide threatens to tear the country apart.

ISIS and Sunni fighters recently seized Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, before threatening to take over Baghdad. In addition to wanting to establish an Islamic state from Iraq to northern Syria, ISIS wants to remove al-Maliki from power.

Iraq might be on the brink of civil war, but a new poll revealed that over half of Americans oppose U.S. intervention in the country.

While Iraq faces an advance from radical Sunni Islamists, a Reuters-IPSOS Poll released Thursday shows that 55 percent of respondents oppose intervention of any kind, The New York Times reported. Only 20 percent support U.S. involvement. The survey showed little disparity among responses from Democrats, independents and Republicans.

When questioned about whether they stand behind President Barack Obama's position not to intervene unless the Shiite-led Iraqi government begins power-sharing with Sunni and Kurdish leaders, most respondents said they still opposed U.S. engagement. Forty-five percent said the United States should not get involved in the conflict "no matter what," while 34 percent support Obama's conditions for engagement and 21 percent said the U.S. must get involved to stop radicals from seizing power.

Related