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| Iraq crisis: Islamist militants attack Tikrit after 500,000 are forced to flee Mosul | Iraq crisis: Islamist militants attack Tikrit after 500,000 are forced to flee Mosul |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Islamist insurgents have overrun parts of the Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, after taking control of Iraq's biggest city Mosul. | Islamist insurgents have overrun parts of the Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, after taking control of Iraq's biggest city Mosul. |
| The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has urged troops to fight back against the militants as up to 500,000 people fled Mosul after the al-Qa'ida splinter group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) overran the city. | |
| Security sources said some parts of Tikrit, which is located 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, is now under the control of militants and dozens of the insurgents have reportedly been clashing with security forces near the headquarters of the government in the city centre. | Security sources said some parts of Tikrit, which is located 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, is now under the control of militants and dozens of the insurgents have reportedly been clashing with security forces near the headquarters of the government in the city centre. |
| It has not been confirmed if ISIS is attacking Tikrit. | |
| Those fleeing from Mosul to the Kurdistan Region have now been told they must already have family in the region or a sponsor in order to receive permission from the govornate to enter from the surrounding Nineveh province, the International Organisation for Migration has reported. | Those fleeing from Mosul to the Kurdistan Region have now been told they must already have family in the region or a sponsor in order to receive permission from the govornate to enter from the surrounding Nineveh province, the International Organisation for Migration has reported. |
| Many residents in the city have been forced to flee on foot as they have been prohibited from using vehicles in the city. They report “chaos” from within its walls, with police stations on fire, over 1,000 prisoners freed and hospitals remaining inaccessible. | Many residents in the city have been forced to flee on foot as they have been prohibited from using vehicles in the city. They report “chaos” from within its walls, with police stations on fire, over 1,000 prisoners freed and hospitals remaining inaccessible. |
| Witnesses say the military, police and city officials have also fled the city after it was overrun by the ISIS, while government soldiers abandoned all vehicles and weapons and left on foot. | Witnesses say the military, police and city officials have also fled the city after it was overrun by the ISIS, while government soldiers abandoned all vehicles and weapons and left on foot. |
| A picture taken with a mobile phone shows uniforms reportedly belonging to Iraqi security forces scattered on the road on June 10, 2014 "We can't beat them. We can't," one army officer told Reuters. "They are well trained in street fighting and we're not. We need a whole army to drive them out of Mosul. | A picture taken with a mobile phone shows uniforms reportedly belonging to Iraqi security forces scattered on the road on June 10, 2014 "We can't beat them. We can't," one army officer told Reuters. "They are well trained in street fighting and we're not. We need a whole army to drive them out of Mosul. |
| "They're like ghosts: they appear, strike and disappear in seconds." | "They're like ghosts: they appear, strike and disappear in seconds." |
| Mr al-Maliki has asked parliament to declare a state of emergency to grant him further powers. | |
| In a televised address, he said security personnel who had "deserted" and "did not carry out their jobs properly" should be punished, but those who are resisting will be rewarded and urged units to keep fighting. | |
| A spokesperson for Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, said he was "gravely concerned" by the events. | |
| Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani has issued a statement appealing to the UN refugee agency for help. | Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani has issued a statement appealing to the UN refugee agency for help. |
| "In order to assist and support the displaced people of the city of Mosul, including all of the city's different ethnic groups – Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Chaldeans and Assyrians – I ask the people of the Kurdistan Region to help the displaced people of Mosul in whatever way they can within the framework of legal and security guidelines”, he said. | "In order to assist and support the displaced people of the city of Mosul, including all of the city's different ethnic groups – Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Chaldeans and Assyrians – I ask the people of the Kurdistan Region to help the displaced people of Mosul in whatever way they can within the framework of legal and security guidelines”, he said. |
| The United States condemned the seizure of Mosul, calling the situation "extremely serious" and urging fractious political groups to fight Iraq's enemies together. | The United States condemned the seizure of Mosul, calling the situation "extremely serious" and urging fractious political groups to fight Iraq's enemies together. |