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| Isis takes another Iraqi city as US and Iran prepare for Vienna talks | Isis takes another Iraqi city as US and Iran prepare for Vienna talks |
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| Jihadists in Iraq have captured another city as senior US and Iranian officials are expected to discuss possible cooperation in Iraq on the sidelines of nuclear talks in Vienna. | Jihadists in Iraq have captured another city as senior US and Iranian officials are expected to discuss possible cooperation in Iraq on the sidelines of nuclear talks in Vienna. |
| The US deputy secretary of state, William Burns, who held secret nuclear talks with Iran in 2013, is due in the Austrian capital, along with Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The main order of business is a comprehensive nuclear deal, which is supposed to be completed by 20 July, but sweeping gains by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) in northern Iraq have made the insurgency an urgent priority for Washington and Tehran. | The US deputy secretary of state, William Burns, who held secret nuclear talks with Iran in 2013, is due in the Austrian capital, along with Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The main order of business is a comprehensive nuclear deal, which is supposed to be completed by 20 July, but sweeping gains by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) in northern Iraq have made the insurgency an urgent priority for Washington and Tehran. |
| Isis has taken the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, the mayor of the city of 200,000 people told the Associated Press. A resident in Tal Afar, 260 miles north-west of Baghdad, said militants in pickup trucks with machine guns and jihadi banners were roaming the streets as gunfire rang out. | |
| Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, suggested on Saturday that Iran might work with the US to stop Isis, which continues to make military gains. | Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, suggested on Saturday that Iran might work with the US to stop Isis, which continues to make military gains. |
| "Whatever dialogue may or may not be taking place [with Iran] would take place on the sideline or outside the mainstream of the nuclear talks," John Kerry, the US secretary of state, said on Saturday in London. "We don't want that linked and mixed." | "Whatever dialogue may or may not be taking place [with Iran] would take place on the sideline or outside the mainstream of the nuclear talks," John Kerry, the US secretary of state, said on Saturday in London. "We don't want that linked and mixed." |
| There are fears that militants will carry out further atrocities in Tal Afar, an ethnically mixed town made up of Shias and Sunni Turkomen. At the weekend Isis released photographs and videos apparently showing Iraqi army prisoners being killed in the desert near Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown. | There are fears that militants will carry out further atrocities in Tal Afar, an ethnically mixed town made up of Shias and Sunni Turkomen. At the weekend Isis released photographs and videos apparently showing Iraqi army prisoners being killed in the desert near Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown. |
| The pictures, on a militant website, appear to show masked Isis fighters loading captives on to flatbed trucks before forcing them to lie facedown in a shallow ditch with their arms tied behind their backs. The final images show the bodies of the captives soaked in blood after being shot at several locations. | |
| Iraq's chief military spokesman, Lt Gen Qassim al-Moussawi, confirmed the photos' authenticity and said he was aware of cases of mass murder of captured Iraqi soldiers in areas held by Isis. But claims that the militants executed 1,700 prisoners could not confirmed. | Iraq's chief military spokesman, Lt Gen Qassim al-Moussawi, confirmed the photos' authenticity and said he was aware of cases of mass murder of captured Iraqi soldiers in areas held by Isis. But claims that the militants executed 1,700 prisoners could not confirmed. |
| Fighting in Tal Afar began on Sunday, with Iraqi government officials saying that Isis fighters were firing rockets seized from military arms depots in the Mosul area. They said the local garrison suffered heavy casualties and the main hospital was unable to cope with the wounded. | Fighting in Tal Afar began on Sunday, with Iraqi government officials saying that Isis fighters were firing rockets seized from military arms depots in the Mosul area. They said the local garrison suffered heavy casualties and the main hospital was unable to cope with the wounded. |
| Tal Afar's capture came hours after Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, vowed to retake every inch of territory seized by the militants. | |
| "We will march and liberate every inch they defaced, from the country's northernmost point to the southernmost point," Maliki told volunteers joining up to fight the insurgents. | "We will march and liberate every inch they defaced, from the country's northernmost point to the southernmost point," Maliki told volunteers joining up to fight the insurgents. |