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Iraq 'struggling' against Isis militants, say diplomats Iraq crisis: Rutba latest western town to fall to Isis
(about 7 hours later)
Iraq's government is struggling in its battle against militants, diplomats and politicians have told the BBC. Sunni militants have seized another town in Iraq's western Anbar province - the fourth in two days.
Fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) said they seized a border crossing to Syria and two towns in north-west Iraq on Saturday. Fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) captured Rutba, 90 miles (150km) east of Jordan's border, officials said.
Correspondents say Isis appears to be better trained, better equipped and more experienced than the army. They earlier seized a border crossing to Syria and two towns in western Iraq as they advance towards Baghdad.
The Sunni extremists attacked the city of Mosul in June and have since seized large swathes of territory across Iraq. The insurgents intend to capture the whole of the predominantly Sunni Anbar province, a spokesman told the BBC.
There is deep pessimism in Baghdad about the way the government's war against Isis is going, says the BBC's World Affairs Editor John Simpson, who has been speaking to senior politicians and diplomats in the capital. Also on Sunday,
The Iraqi air force ran out of American Hellfire missiles two weeks ago, and in any case only has two Cessna planes capable of firing Hellfires, he adds. Isis on the Euphrates
Experts say Isis has established secure safe havens, including some in neighbouring Syria, which will be difficult to target. Rutba is strategically placed on the main road between Baghdad and Jordan.
Sectarian tensions It is the fourth town in what is Iraq's largest province to fall in two days to the Sunni rebel alliance, which Isis spearheads.
On Saturday, Iraqi officials admitted that Isis had seized a border crossing near the town of Qaim, killing 30 troops after a day-long battle. On Saturday the militants said they had taken the towns of Rawa and Anah, along the Euphrates river.
Rebels also said they had taken the towns of Rawa and Aneh along the Euphrates river. And Iraqi officials admitted Isis fighters had also seized a border crossing near the town of Qaim, killing 30 troops after a day-long battle.
Correspondents say a campaign along the river may eventually lead to an assault on Baghdad from the west. According to the rebels, army garrisons, including at the area's command centre, abandoned their bases and weapons, and fled.
The capture of the Qaim crossing in western Iraq could also help Isis transport weapons and other equipment to different battlefields, analysts say. An Iraqi military spokesman described the withdrawal from Rawa, Anah and Qaim as a "tactical move... for the purpose of redeployment".
Extremist fighters claim to have seized parts of Iraq's largest oil refinery, at Baiji, and have also taken a disused chemical weapons factory in Muthanna, 70km (45 miles) north-west of Baghdad. Isis in Iraq
The government denied that militants had gained access to parts of the Baiji refinery but said the army was facing "violent attacks" from gunmen. Isis grew out of an al-Qaeda-linked organisation in Iraq
Also on Saturday, thousands of Shia militia loyal to the powerful cleric Moqtada al-Sadr paraded through the streets of Baghdad. Jihadi groups around the world
The cleric, whose Mehdi Army fought the US in Iraq for years, had called for a military parade across the country. The capture of the frontier crossing could help Isis transport weapons and other equipment to different battlefields, analysts say.
Correspondents say the show of force will be seen as a very disturbing development by the Baghdad government as the parade will only raise sectarian tensions at a time when the government is under pressure to rally the country together against the extremists. The rebels are confident that towns they do not already control along the Euphrates valley will fall without much of a fight, with the help of sympathetic local tribes, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Irbil.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to travel to Iraq soon to press for a more representative cabinet, hoping this could ease tensions between the country's rival Muslim sects. Since January, they have held parts of the provincial capital Ramadi, and all of nearby Falluja, half an hour's drive from Baghdad.
A spokesman for the Military Councils, one of the main Sunni groups fighting alongside Isis, told the BBC the rebels' strategic goal was the capital itself.
In the meantime they are clearly trying to take the string of towns along the Euphrates between Falluja and the western border, says our correspondent.
Baghdad fears
There is deep pessimism in Baghdad about the government's war against Isis, which appears better trained, equipped and more experienced than the army, diplomats and politicians have told the BBC.
The Sunni extremists attacked the city of Mosul in early June and have since seized swathes of territory across Iraq.
The Iraqi government has urged the US, Europe and the UN to take immediate action to help deal with the crisis - including targeted air strikes.
Iraq's air force ran out of American Hellfire missiles two weeks ago, and only has two Cessna planes capable of firing the missiles.
But Isis has established secure safe havens, including some in neighbouring Syria, which will be difficult to target, experts say.
And experts warn that using air strikes now would endanger civilians.
"[The militants are] now fully enmeshed with the civilian population and it's just almost impossible to use air power or cruise missiles to strike at fighters that way," said Christopher Harmer, an analyst from the Institute for Study of War in Washington.
"You will end up killing a lot of civilians," he told the BBC.
The US, which pulled out of Iraq in 2011, is sending some 300 military advisers to Iraq to help in the fight against the insurgents there.The US, which pulled out of Iraq in 2011, is sending some 300 military advisers to Iraq to help in the fight against the insurgents there.
But in the face of Iraqi calls for US air strikes, the White House is insisting that there is no purely military solution to the crisis. But the White House insists there is no purely military solution to the crisis.
Correspondents say Mr Obama believes Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki has endangered the country by ignoring Sunni concerns and governing in the interests of the Shia majority. Mr Obama believes Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki has endangered the country by ignoring Sunni concerns and governing in the interests of the Shia majority, correspondents say.
Iraq's sectarian split
Sunnis and Shias: What's the story?
Jeremy Bowen: Why Sunni-Shia tensions have returned
Iraq crisis: Voices from Iraq
Are you in Iraq or do you have family there? Have you been affected by recent events? You can send details of your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using 'Iraq' in the subject line.Are you in Iraq or do you have family there? Have you been affected by recent events? You can send details of your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using 'Iraq' in the subject line.