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Militants seize key sections of Iraqi city Mosul and free 1,000 people in prison break Anarchy in Iraq: Militants seize the city of Mosul and free 1,200 people in prison break
(35 minutes later)
Hundreds of gunmen took control of key sections of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul today, forcing local police and army forces to abandon their posts and dealing a serious blow to Baghdad's efforts to control a widening insurgency in the country. Islamic militants have captured Iraq’s northern capital, Mosul, in a devastating defeat for the Iraqi government, whose forces fled the city discarding weapons and uniforms.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki asked parliament to declare a state of emergency. The victory by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) is likely to transform the politics of the Middle East as foreign powers realise that an al-Qa’ida-type group has gained control over a large part of northern Iraq and northern Syria. The US said it supported a “strong, co-ordinated response to push back against this aggression”.
According to police, fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis), an al-Qa'ida splinter group, freed up to 1,000 inmates from the central prison and took control of Mosul airport, local TV stations and the governor's offices. An Iraqi army colonel admitted: “We have lost Mosul this morning. Army and police forces left their positions and Isis terrorists are in full control. It’s a total collapse of the security forces.”
The insurgents seized the government complex — a key symbol of state authority — late yesterday, following days of fighting in the country's second-largest city.
Mosul is a former al-Qa'ida stronghold situated in what has long been one of the more dangerous parts of Iraq 360 kilometers northwest of Baghdad.
Several worried Mosul residents reported seeing the gunmen hoisting the black flags inscribed with the Islamic declaration used by Isis, al-Qa'ida and other jihadist groups. Unconfirmed reports have also suggested there are a number of foreign fighters involved in the attacks.
#Iraq #ISIS freed 1440 prisoners from Badush prison in #Mosul pic.twitter.com/VYfzaIXmpy#Iraq #ISIS freed 1440 prisoners from Badush prison in #Mosul pic.twitter.com/VYfzaIXmpy
In a nationally televised press conference, al-Maliki asked parliament to convene an urgent session to declare a state of emergency. As well as police stations, army bases and the airport, the insurgents have captured two prisons and freed 1,200 prisoners, many of them Isis fighters. Roads out of Mosul are choked with refugees heading for what they hope is safety in Kurdish-held territory.
"Iraq is undergoing a difficult stage," he said, acknowledging that militants had taken control of "vital areas in Mosul," and saying the public and government must unite "to confront this vicious attack, which will spare no Iraqi." A university lecturer from a well-known family in Mosul told The Independent: “Mosul has fallen completely into the hands of the terrorists. Everyone is fleeing. It’s after midnight here. We are also packing up to leave home, but we have no idea where to go.”
Burning vehicles belonging to Iraqi security forces during clashes in the northern Iraq city of Mosul (Reuters) Under the constitution, parliament can declare a 30-day state of emergency on a two-thirds vote by its members, granting the prime minister the necessary powers to run the country. In Baghdad the Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has asked parliament to declare a state of emergency and called on the international community to support Iraq in its fight against “terrorism”. 
Um Karam, a government employee who lives about two kilometers (just over a mile) from the provincial headquarters, said her family decided to flee the city early on Tuesday after hearing about the government building's fall. Burning vehicles belonging to Iraqi security forces during clashes in the northern Iraq city of Mosul (Reuters) But in the streets of the capital, where the population is mostly Shia, there is growing panic and fear that Isis forces may take the Sunni city of Tikrit, which they are approaching, and then move on to Baghdad.
One woman in Baghdad, who did not want to give her name, said: “People are buying up food and may not come to work tomorrow because they think the situation is going to get worse.”
She added that her relatives in Mosul who had been living in the western part of the city, which is bisected by the Tigris River, have moved to the eastern side that contains large Kurdish districts and is defended by well-trained and resolute Kurdish Peshmerga troops. She said: “People in Mosul have seen government forces run away so they think the government will use aircraft to bomb Mosul indiscriminately.”
Sh. Omar Al-Shishani checks the war spoils (Ghanima) brought by ISIS from Iraq pic.twitter.com/2NK20bpxNASh. Omar Al-Shishani checks the war spoils (Ghanima) brought by ISIS from Iraq pic.twitter.com/2NK20bpxNA
"The situation is chaotic inside the city and there is nobody to help us," the Christian mother of two said, using a nickname out of concern for her safety. "We are afraid ... There is no police or army in Mosul." Mosul is a majority Sunni Arab city and traditionally the home of many families that joined the Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein. His defence minister was normally somebody from the area. Ever since the US-led invasion in 2003, control of the city by Baghdad has been unstable. In 2004 it was stormed by Sunni insurgents who captured most of it and held it for three days until they retreated after the US military appealed to the Kurds to send Peshmerga units from Dohuk inside the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
The Mosul attack comes as Iraq is in the grip of its worst surge in violence since the sectarian bloodletting of 2006 and 2007. Could this happen again? Many of the refugees fleeing towards the KRG and the Kurdish capital, Arbil, are Sunni Arabs but they are likely to be joined by members of small sects and ethnic groups such as the Yazidis and Shabak, whom Isis might kill.
Iraqis fleeing violence in Mosul wait in their vehicles at a Kurdish checkpoint (Getty) The embattled Shiite prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, is struggling to hold onto power following parliamentary elections in late April that left him with the most seats but short of a majority needed to form a new government outright. The Kurds lay claim to large parts of Nineveh province though not to Mosul itself. The Isis success shows that the local Sunni political leadership has little influence since the governor Atheel Nujaifi only narrowly escaped from his provincial headquarters before Isis captured it. His brother Osama, the Speaker of parliament, called on Massoud Barzani, President of the KRG, to send Peshmerga to recapture Mosul from “terrorists”.
Iraqis fleeing violence in Mosul wait in their vehicles at a Kurdish checkpoint (Getty) What will the Iraqi government do now? It could counter-attack and in theory it has 900,000 soldiers under arms. But the Iraqi army is more of a patronage system to provide jobs rather than a trained military force.
#Mosul situation map acc to news outlets - the city is controlled by #ISIS major buildings, banks, schools all pic.twitter.com/m45oNusi4x#Mosul situation map acc to news outlets - the city is controlled by #ISIS major buildings, banks, schools all pic.twitter.com/m45oNusi4x
Isis insurgents and their allies remain in control of Fallujah and other parts of Anbar province, which neighbors Ninevah province and like it shares a long and loosely controlled border with Syria. Though Isis took Falluja, 40 miles west of Baghdad, in January the government has shelled it and dropped barrel bombs but has failed to retake it. Soldiers in Anbar province, where much of the fighting has been concentrated, complain that money for their food and fuel is embezzled by officers and many have deserted.
The militants have also managed to launch frequent coordinated attacks in the capital, Baghdad, and in other parts of the country. Even so, the failure of the Iraqi armed forces to fight in Mosul is very striking. “We can’t beat them,” one officer told a news agency. “They’re 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 to hit and disappear within seconds.”
Insurgents last week launched an attack on the Sunni-dominated city of Samarra, 95 kilometers (60 miles) from Baghdad. They killed several members of the Iraqi security forces and took control of several districts before eventually being repelled. Two army officers claim that the security forces were ordered out of the city after the fall of the Ghizlani base which had contained 200 prisoners in a high-security prison. A further 1,000 inmates escaped from a prison called Badush, west of the city. The army and police set fire to fuel dumps and ammunition depots as they retreated, but there is no doubt that the insurgents will have captured large quantities of weapons.
#الموصل_تتحرر اللهم لك الحمد pic.twitter.com/Odh0qVEcFR#الموصل_تتحرر اللهم لك الحمد pic.twitter.com/Odh0qVEcFR
A day later, militants occupied a university in Anbar province, taking dozens hostages before later releasing later on. Authorities in Anbar said Monday that about 15 staffers are still missing, likely held by a group of gunmen in a campus building. Isis has grown swiftly in strength over the past three years under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, also known as Abu Dua, who took over in 2010 after its previous commanders were killed. It has since become highly organised and controlled from the centre, but without becoming less merciless and fanatical. Its propaganda films frequently show non-Sunni Muslims being executed and its reputation for savagery may have helped demoralise the Iraqi security forces in Mosul.
Additional reporting by Associated Press The resurgence of Isis is also explained by the Iraqi Sunni, some five or six million, being emboldened by the revolt of the Sunni in Syria in 2011. Peaceful protests mutated into armed action. The Sunni uprisings in Iraq and Syria have combined into one crisis.