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| After Capture of Mosul, Militants Extend Control in Iraq | After Capture of Mosul, Militants Extend Control in Iraq |
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| BAGHDAD — In a lightning advance, Sunni militants who overran the northern Iraqi city of Mosul to deal a stunning strategic blow against the government have pressed south toward Baghdad and occupied facilities in the key oil refining town of Baiji, spreading alarm in the Iraqi capital itself, according to security officials and residents on Wednesday. | BAGHDAD — In a lightning advance, Sunni militants who overran the northern Iraqi city of Mosul to deal a stunning strategic blow against the government have pressed south toward Baghdad and occupied facilities in the key oil refining town of Baiji, spreading alarm in the Iraqi capital itself, according to security officials and residents on Wednesday. |
| Citizens in the refining center of Baiji, 110 miles south of Mosul, awoke Wednesday to find government checkpoints abandoned after insurgents, in a column of 60 vehicles, took control of parts of the city of 200,000 without firing a shot, the security officials said. Peter Bouckaert, the emergency services director for Human Rights Watch, said in a post on Twitter that the militants had seized the Baiji power station, which supplies electricity to Baghdad, Kirkuk and Salahuddin Province. | |
| Baghdad itself, 130 miles further south, seemed calm, but residents said they were shocked by the militant advance and feared the insurgents from the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria could push toward the capital. | Baghdad itself, 130 miles further south, seemed calm, but residents said they were shocked by the militant advance and feared the insurgents from the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria could push toward the capital. |
| Shiite militias and security forces loyal to the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki were on high alert, and residents in Baghdad began stockpiling food, fuel and small arms in fear of a rebel assault. A senior provincial official said the authorities had a plan to recapture Mosul, according to wire service reports. Atheel al-Nujaifi, the governor of Nineveh Province, also accused government commanders in Mosul of misleading the government about the situation there. | Shiite militias and security forces loyal to the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki were on high alert, and residents in Baghdad began stockpiling food, fuel and small arms in fear of a rebel assault. A senior provincial official said the authorities had a plan to recapture Mosul, according to wire service reports. Atheel al-Nujaifi, the governor of Nineveh Province, also accused government commanders in Mosul of misleading the government about the situation there. |
| On Wednesday, the insurgents claimed to have taken control of the entire province of Nineveh, Agence France-Presse reported, and there were reports of militants executing government soldiers in the Kirkuk region. | |
| While the details and timing of a government counteroffensive remained unclear, Iraq’s foreign minister, Hoshya Zebari, was quoted on Wednesday as saying the country’s Kurdish minority, which controls territory close to the militants, would “work together” with Baghdad’s forces to “flush out these foreign fighters.” | While the details and timing of a government counteroffensive remained unclear, Iraq’s foreign minister, Hoshya Zebari, was quoted on Wednesday as saying the country’s Kurdish minority, which controls territory close to the militants, would “work together” with Baghdad’s forces to “flush out these foreign fighters.” |
| At a meeting of Arab and European foreign ministers in Athens, news reports said, Mr. Zebari, himself a Kurd, called the insurgents’ strike “a serious, mortal threat” and said, “The response has to be soon. There has to be a quick response to what has happened.” | |
| Iraqi Kurds are concentrated in the autonomous region of Kurdistan, where security is maintained by a fiercely loyal army, the pesh merga, that has thus far not been involved in the latest clashes.The Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad, facing the same jihadist adversary in its civil war against a broader array of armed foes, said it expressed solidarity with the Iraqi authorities and armed forces, the official SANA news agency reported. | |
| Word of the latest militant advance came as a United Nations agency reported that some 500,000 people had fled Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, after the militants, spilling over the border from Syria, captured military bases, police stations, banks and provincial headquarters. | Word of the latest militant advance came as a United Nations agency reported that some 500,000 people had fled Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, after the militants, spilling over the border from Syria, captured military bases, police stations, banks and provincial headquarters. |
| On Tuesday the insurgents, reinforced with captured weaponry abandoned by the fleeing government forces, raised their black banner over streets in Mosul littered with the bodies of soldiers, police officers and civilians. The success of the militant attack was the most stunning development in a rapidly widening insurgency straddling the porous border of Iraq and Syria. | On Tuesday the insurgents, reinforced with captured weaponry abandoned by the fleeing government forces, raised their black banner over streets in Mosul littered with the bodies of soldiers, police officers and civilians. The success of the militant attack was the most stunning development in a rapidly widening insurgency straddling the porous border of Iraq and Syria. |
| Mr. Mailiki has ordered a state of emergency for the entire country and called on friendly governments for assistance with the quickly deteriorating situation. | Mr. Mailiki has ordered a state of emergency for the entire country and called on friendly governments for assistance with the quickly deteriorating situation. |
| With the rapid advances of the past two days, the insurgents have widened the zone under their control and now threaten the region around the capital. Mr. Maliki’s weak central government is struggling to mount a defense, a problem made markedly more dangerous by the defections of hundreds of trained soldiers, and the loss of their vehicles, uniforms and weapons. | With the rapid advances of the past two days, the insurgents have widened the zone under their control and now threaten the region around the capital. Mr. Maliki’s weak central government is struggling to mount a defense, a problem made markedly more dangerous by the defections of hundreds of trained soldiers, and the loss of their vehicles, uniforms and weapons. |
| The International Organization for Migration, based in Geneva, said that the rout of government forces in Mosul after days of fighting had sent a half-million Iraqis fleeing their homes, adding to roughly the same number of displaced people in Anbar Province, west of Baghdad. | The International Organization for Migration, based in Geneva, said that the rout of government forces in Mosul after days of fighting had sent a half-million Iraqis fleeing their homes, adding to roughly the same number of displaced people in Anbar Province, west of Baghdad. |
| The organization said heavy fighting began in Mosul on Saturday, causing heavy casualties. On Monday night, Iraqi government forces withdrew, allowing the militants to take the international airport and “all police and military bases.” | The organization said heavy fighting began in Mosul on Saturday, causing heavy casualties. On Monday night, Iraqi government forces withdrew, allowing the militants to take the international airport and “all police and military bases.” |
| Citizens fled on foot because they were not permitted to use vehicles, the organization for migration said. | Citizens fled on foot because they were not permitted to use vehicles, the organization for migration said. |
| Security officials said the militant drive toward Baiji began late on Tuesday with brief clashes a few miles north of the town before the insurgents overran a security post, captured vehicles and set buildings on fire. | |
| “They did not kill the soldiers or policemen who handed over their weapons, uniform and their military I.D.,” a security official said in Tikrit, speaking in return for anonymity. “They just took these things and asked them to leave.” | “They did not kill the soldiers or policemen who handed over their weapons, uniform and their military I.D.,” a security official said in Tikrit, speaking in return for anonymity. “They just took these things and asked them to leave.” |
| Witnesses in Tikrit said security forces there had also fled and that insurgents were in control of another major highway in the region. The city lies just north of Tikrit, once best known as the hometown of Saddam Hussein. | Witnesses in Tikrit said security forces there had also fled and that insurgents were in control of another major highway in the region. The city lies just north of Tikrit, once best known as the hometown of Saddam Hussein. |
| The swift advances offered a new milestone in Iraq’s unraveling since the withdrawal of American forces at the end of 2011. | The swift advances offered a new milestone in Iraq’s unraveling since the withdrawal of American forces at the end of 2011. |
| The rising insurgency also seemed likely to add to the foreign policy woes of the Obama administration, which has faced sharp criticism for its recent swap of five Taliban officers for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and must now answer questions about the death of five Americans by friendly fire in Afghanistan on Monday night. | The rising insurgency also seemed likely to add to the foreign policy woes of the Obama administration, which has faced sharp criticism for its recent swap of five Taliban officers for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and must now answer questions about the death of five Americans by friendly fire in Afghanistan on Monday night. |
| Critics have long warned that America’s withdrawal of troops from Iraq, without leaving even a token force, invited an insurgent revival. | Critics have long warned that America’s withdrawal of troops from Iraq, without leaving even a token force, invited an insurgent revival. |