Events in Iraq

The best coverage of events in Iraq has come from Britain's Telegraph. I have edited out all the bits where the political class give their venal reactions to what is a disaster for 10 years of intervention in this country.

Perhaps it is best summarised by this tweet:

WilliamsJon Jon WilliamsEvents in #Iraq extraordinary. But silence deafening from political class in US & UK. Mosul embarrassing for them, catastrophic for Iraqis About 10 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone  Favorite  Retweet Reply

Iraq crisis: al-Qaeda forces seize Mosul and Tikrit - as it happened

the Telegraph,

11 June, 2014

US and UK speak of deep concern as al-Qaeda take swathes of northern Iraq, sparking a mass exodus of civilians - follow latest developments

Iraqi families fleeing violence in the northern Nineveh province gather at a Kurdish checkpoint in Aski Kalak Photo: Safin Hamed/AFP

21.35 Here's some Youtube footage purportedly showing abandoned Iraqi military positions in Mosul and ISIS fighters driving openly through the streets with their black banners flying.

Reports have been coming in of mass beheadings and that the Iraqi army have turned tail and run

21.15 We've heard consistent reports that the Iraqi security forces - which the US and Britain spent billions training and equipping - melted in the face of the Sunni militants' advance.

20.45 The US Embassy in Iraq has a grim message to Americans travelling in the country: things are as bad now as the height of the fighting in 2007.

Numerous insurgent groups, including the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), previously known as al-Qa’ida in Iraq, remain active and terrorist activity and violence persist in many areas of the country at levels unseen since 2007.

20.15 The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad has said it is prepared to come to Iraq's aid against the Sunni insurgents sweeping through the country. "The foreign-backed terrorism that our brothers in Iraq are facing is the same that is targeting Syria," the foreign ministry said.

And the Americans, as usual, are obsessed by themselves

20.00 The crisis in Iraq isn't getting much attention in Washington, where the focus is on an unfolding political drama on Capitol Hill. But some of the more hawkish Republican senators are bringing it up, accusing Obama of prematurely withdrawing from Iraq in 2010 and allowing chaos to fill the vacuum.

Here's Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida:

As much as it may be popular, declaring wars over prematurely and playing down the threats posed by hardened terrorists has not made us safer. It has made us less secure. After significant sacrifices in American lives and financial support for the future of the Iraqi people, we have squandered the gains in that country. We need to ensure our assistance programs to Iraq are adequate to deal with the threats to their stability.

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19.45 Raised eyebrows in the US...

The western response is venal. They can't go back to Iraq. They are 'worried' while others like the US ambassador say the situation is under control. Remember Saddam's minister of information as the Americans invaded?

19.39 William Hague has been speaking about Iraq just now.

He said while the situation was of great concern, the government was "not countenancing at this stage any British military involvement," and that he believed Iraq had sufficient forces to counter the threat.

 We are very worried about this.

It's very important that the civilian population are protected as well as possible, that people who are fleeing the area are looked after by the Iraqi authorities and people in neighbouring countries as well.

It underlines the importance of trying to resolve the Syria crisis which we've been working on for a long time, because that is infecting neighbouring countries, including destabilising Iraq.

And it shows how important it is for the Iraqi leaders to form a new government quickly.

They've just had an election. And to have the political unity and consensus to deal with this."

Asked if Britain would offer military assistance to Baghdad, he said:

It's for Iraq primarily to respond to this.

Iraq has considerable resources. It has its armed forces.

We're not countenancing at this stage any British military involvement."

Asked if British troops could return, five years after British combat operations ceased in Iraq, he said:

There is no question of that.

We left Iraq in the hands of elected Iraqi leaders with armed forces, with their own security forces, so it is primarily for them to deal with.

We will do everything we can to relieve humanitarian suffering and of course to resolve the long-running crisis in Syria."

19.21 Iraqis who fled the violence in Mosul stand in a queue at a checkpoint in Erbil, Kurdistan region, north Iraq, earlier today.

_{KAMAL AKRAYI/EPA}

The Turks, however, are a bit more realistic.

19.17 Turkey's foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, has been speaking about the kidnap of 80 Turks in Iraq.

Right now we're engaged in calm crisis management, considering our citizens' security.

This should not be misunderstood. Any harm to our citizens and staff would be met with the harshest retaliation.

He spoke in New York but has cancelled meetings at the UN to return to Turkey.

18.56 Reuters - NATO AMBASSADORS HELD EMERGENCY MEETING ON WEDNESDAY AT TURKEY'S REQUEST TO DISCUSS IRAQ SITUATION - NATO OFFICIAL

And the all important oil refineries? Under gov't control - for the meantime

18.39 More from the briefing in Washington now.

Reuters: STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS U.S. UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IRAQ'S BIGGEST OIL REFINERY "REMAINS UNDER CONTROL OF THE GOVERNMENT

And the UN blathers on saying this is "unaccetaptable"!

18.38 Ban ki-Moon, the UN secretary-general, has been speaking about the kidnapping of the Turkish diplomats and civilians in Mosul.

The UN chief told a meeting on counter-terrorism Wednesday he was "shocked" to learn of the kidnappings by "terrorists."

He urged the Iraqi government, regional countries and the international community to do everything possible to secure the safe release of the diplomats and bring the perpetrators to justice.

"This is totally unacceptable," he said.

Ha! Ha! ha! Panic stations in Washington

18.29 Breaking from Reuters: US 'stands ready' to provide assistance to Iraq

No detail yet on what that means - but almost certain to be diplomatic and equipment, rather than actual military intervention.

This is a huge blow for Iran and for Syria - and as such, for everybody

18.08 AFP - Iran offers Iraq support against 'terrorism:' foreign minister

_{People gather at the site of a suicide-bomb attack in Baghdad's Shi'ite slum of Sadr city today}

17.44 Turkey is now claiming 80 citizens are being held in two separate incidents in Mosul.

The ministry said 49 of its citizens had been seized at its consulate-general and transferred to another part of the city, while 31 others - truck drivers who were abducted on Tuesday - were being held hostage at a power station in Mosul.

17.35 The Telegraph's Colin Freeman explains the crisis in Iraq - in 60 seconds:

17.25 Turkey's foreign minister has said Ankara will respond if any of its citizens held captive in Iraq are harmed, Reuters reports.

_{"ISIS fighters happy as they head to Samarra. Sunni city w\ important Shiite Al-Askari mosque" [caption from twitter]}

17.00 Robert Tait, Telegraph Middle East correspondent reports:

The most senior of the 48 Turks seized by Islamist militants in Mosul is a former adviser to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister.

Ozturk Yilmaz, consul general at the Turkish mission in the Iraqi city, worked as Mr Erdogan's foreign policy adviser, based in Ankara, Turkey's capital, before being appointed to his current post, the English-language Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Mr Yilmaz, a career diplomat and a Middle East specialist, previously worked at the Turkish mission to the EU in Brussels.

He was seized along with 47 other consular staff and their family members when forces from the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIS) overran the consulate compound.

Mr Yilmaz had prepared an evacuation plan on Monday but had been unable to put it into effect because of "security circumstances" in the surrounding area, according to Hurriyet. However, consular staff successfully defused an encrypted computer and destroyed confidential diplomatic documents, sources said.

_{An image grab taken from a video uploaded on Youtube on 11 June 11 2014, allegedly shows a damaged Iraqi forces vehicle on a street in Iraq's second city Mosul, following fighting with Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) militants}

The Amercians have made this conflict!

16.53 The US has said it will come to the aid of the 500,000 people who have fled fierce fighting in Iraq.

Denouncing the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) as "one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world," Stuart Jones, the nominee to be the next US envoy to Baghdad, told US politicians the United States "will continue to monitor the situation closely, and will work with our international partners to try to meet the needs of those who have been displaced".

16.32 Telegraph video showing the devastation caused by ISIS troops sweeping through northern Iraq:

16.22 Jenan Moussa, from the Arabic Al Aan TV station, tweets:

16.10 Militants seized 48 Turks in an attack on the Turkish consulatein the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, Reuters reports, including the consul-general, three children and several members of Turkey's special forces, a source in the prime minister's office said.

The group was taken from the consulate building to a militant base. Turkish authorities confirmed that all of them are unharmed, the source said.

16.07 A suicide bomber has killed at least 16 people in the BaghdadShia district of Sadr City, police and doctors have told Reuters.

_{Iraqi policemen are seen on patrol inside a military base in Baghdad, on June 11, 2014, after the declaration of a state of emergency by the government}

15.52 Samarra is home to a revered Shia shrine that was bombed in 2006, sparking a sectarian conflict between Iraq's Shia majority and Sunni Arab minority that left tens of thousands dead.

The city lies just 110 kilometres (70 miles) north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on the main highway from second city Mosul where jihadists launched their offensive late on Monday.

15.41 Officials said earlier that 15 security personnel in Kirkuk province were executed by ISIS forces.

15.33 Security forces are battling militants near the town of Samarra, police tell AFP.

_{Iraqi families fleeing violence in the northern Nineveh province are given water as they gather at a Kurdish checkpoint in Aski kalak, 40 kms West of Arbil, in the autonomous Kurdistan region}

15.24 Save the Children’s Acting Country Director in Iraq, Aram Shakaram, has described the refugees fleeing the ISIS takeover of northern Iraq as "one of the largest and swiftest mass movements of people in the world in recent memory":

As terrified families and children flee violence in Mosul, we are witnessing one of the largest and swiftest mass movements of people in the world in recent memory. This shocking escalation of violence is forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee for their lives towards the Kurdistan region.

Massive traffic jams and blocked roads are seriously hindering access and movement of aid, as hundreds of thousands flee from the raging violence and chaos. The most vulnerable families are those left behind and it’s extremely difficult to reach them right now as the violence continues. We are also extremely concerned over how the Kurdistan region of Iraq will cope with the influx.

Save the Children is on the ground working with refugees and displaced people in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. As an immediate emergency priority, we will distribute water, food and hygiene kits to people fleeing Mosul in coordination with local authorities and organisations responding to the crisis.

_{An image grab taken from a propaganda video uploaded on 11 June 2014 by jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) allegedly shows ISIS militants gathering at an undisclosed location in Iraq's Nineveh province}

15.18 Jon Williams, ABC foreign editor, tweets:

15.05 Police brigadier general tells AFP that the militants attacked from the north, west and south of the city, and that they were from ISIS.

The militants had apparently freed some 300 inmates from a prison in the city.

ISIS is spearheading a spectacular offensive that began late on Monday and has since overrun all of Nineveh province and its capital Mosul as well as parts of Kirkuk to its southeast and Salaheddin to its south.

14.50 Iraqi police have now confirmed that Tikrit has fallen to militants - police colonel tells AFP: "All of Tikrit is in the hands of the militants."

_{Burning vehicles belonging to Iraqi security forces are seen during clashes between Iraqi security forces and al Qaeda-linked ISIS in Mosul (PHOTO: Reuters)}

14.43 In Mosul, black banner-waving insurgents have raided government buildings, pushed out security forces and captured military vehicles as residents fled for their lives. Atheel al-Nujaifi, the Ninevah provincial governor, has claimed authorities have "taken practical steps in order to restore order", but reports from the ground suggest militants are firmly in control. he said:

Mosul is capable of getting back on its feet and getting rid of all the outsiders ... and we have a plan to restore security. We have taken practical steps in order to restore order ... by mobilizing people into public committees that would retake the city.

14.40 Militants are battling Iraqi security forces in the central city ofTikrit, officials said. Jihadists have seized a swathe of the north, after taking Iraq's second city Mosul on Tuesday