Militants take complete control of Iraqi city of Mosul

The jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), linked to the terrorist organization Al Qaeda, has seized control of the Iraqi city of Mosul, in northern Iraq, in the northern province of Nineveh. The governor of the region, the Nuyefi Azil, has announced Tuesday by television from an unknown location and after five days of fighting. “There was a large landslide ” of Iraqi army forces, who withdrew without a fight of some areas of this city, one of the largest in the country, as explained by the head of the provincial executive. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has asked Parliament to declare a state of emergency by the jihadists advances in the north.

The success of the rebels has occurred after hundreds of armed men would attack Monday night at the headquarters of the provincial government in Mosul. Azil Al Nuyefi was caught at first in the building, but finally managed to escape thanks to the help of the security forces, who have faced the attackers, carrying grenade launchers, assault rifles and machine guns.

After controlling the first west of the town, the militants have begun to move towards a military base where the main prison of the city. Earlier in the day, the governor himself has asked in a televised address to the people that addressed the insurgents, who began attacking Mosul during the day on Friday. “I ask the men of Mosul remain steadfast in their areas and defend them from coming out, and create popular committees through the provincial council,” even said to Nuyefi Azil.

ISIS, formed by radical foreign fighters, has a strong presence in Syria, western Iraq neighboring country. Precisely in the province of Deir al-Zor in eastern Syria on the border with Iraq, the ISIS controls large portions of land, rich in hydrocarbons. Abubaker al Baghdadi leads the ISIS, which follows the philosophy of Al Qaeda, although it has not complied with the guidelines of the terrorist network leader, Egyptian Ayman al Zawahiri, who has asked Al Baghdadi that focuses on Iraq after lose control of many areas of the northern Syrian rebels in battles with other factions.

Iraq has signed in May one of the worst balance of fatalities by violence, with almost 800 deaths, making it the worst month since the period of sectarian violence between 2006 and 2007. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), fighting between the army and rebels have left so far of nearly half a million displaced civilians year.

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Posted by Nadeem Bajwa on Jun 11 2014. Filed under Latest News, Middle East. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.