Kurdish forces claim control of oil city of Kirkuk

The jihadists are within 100 kilometers of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad by Thursday. They leave behind large cities conquered in the north – Baiji and Mosul, where, after launching an offensive earlier this week, took control of the province of Nineveh. Although the insurgents were several points of Tikrit, birthplace of Saddam Hussein, the Army announced on state television that has regained control and killed 19 militants during the fighting, according to Efe. Kurdish forces have claimed Thursday that they have full control of the oil city of Kirkuk, after the Iraqi army abandoned their positions in the city, according to a spokesman for the Peshmerga. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday called for cooperation to the security forces of the autonomous region of Kurdistan (in northern Iraq) to stop the Jihadist advance towards the capital. The parliament has been unable to declare a state of emergency due to a lack of quorum for a vote, according to Reuters

The Sunni militia Islamic Army in Iraq and the Levant (EIIL) has incited his followers to take the cities of Karbala and Najaf, where the main Shiite shrines. ” The reckoning with you [ referring to Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ] is not going to be in Samarra and Baghdad, but in Kerbala and Najaf impure ” threatened on jihadist forums EIIL spokesman, Abu Mohammed al- Adnani. At the same time, half a million people have been forced from their homes by the rebel advance in the north of the country, the UN reported.

EIIL fighters have taken possession of the city of Dhoulouiya, located approximately 90 kilometers north of Baghdad, says Agence France Presse quoted a local police and some neighbors. A resident has told the agency that gunmen roam the streets and there is no presence of government forces. Black flags fluttered from yesterday jihadists in cities taken by the rebels.

Before reaching Dhoulouiya, insurgents attempted to take Samarra, but government forces stopped them. It was in this city where, in February 2006, an attack on a Shiite shrine triggered a bloody conflict between Sunnis and Shiites, which killed tens of thousands and lasted until early 2008, when there was full presence of U.S. troops in Iraq.

With the advance of Sunni insurgents, the Iraqi Parliament Thursday debating to declare a state of emergency throughout the country and granting extraordinary powers to the prime minister, as requested on Tuesday the Government of Al Maliki. Since only 128 of the 325 MPs have gone, the session was adjourned for lack of quorum, according to a deputy. Reuters suggests that the absence of several MPs in Thursday’s session due to a boycott, primarily from Sunni and Kurdish factions, the prime minister, who has been criticized for so sectarian rule.

The spokesman for the jihadists, Al-Adnani, on Wednesday urged “into Baghdad” will be the “capital of the caliphate ” and criticized Maliki for his ” incompetence ” in a recording released by SITE.

The Iraqi security forces have failed to stop this extremist offensive towards Baghdad. Still, Prime Minister al-Maliki called on his weekly Wednesday that all tribes militarily support the army and the police and called “form volunteer units to combat” against militias.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=45225

Posted by Maleeha Tareen on Jun 13 2014. Filed under 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.