Iraqi Forces Flee Mosul After The City Falls To Islamic Militants (Updated)

'A Threat To The Whole Middle East': Warning As Terrorists Overrun Iraq’s Second City Mosul - Seen As Gateway To Syria – And Set Hundreds Of Prisoners Free -- Daily Mail

* Captured by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - an offshoot of al Qaeda
* Followed four days of fierce fighting in Mosul and other cities and towns
* Fall of Mosul deals serious blow to Baghdad's efforts to fight Sunni militants
* Iraq's prime minister has asked parliament to declare a state of emergency

Islamic militants overran parts of Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul today, driving security forces from their posts and seizing the provincial government headquarters, security bases and other key buildings.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pressed parliament to declare a state of emergency.

The fight for Mosul was a heavy defeat in Baghdad's battle against a widening insurgency by a breakaway al-Qaida group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which has been trying - with some success - to seize territory both in Iraq and neighboring Syria.

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Previous Post: In A Series Of Coordinated Attacks Al Qaeda Has Seized Iraq's Second-Largest City And The Provice Of Nineveh. In Response Iraq Has Declared A State Of Emergency

More News On The Fall Of The Iraqi City Of Mosul To Islamic Militants

Mosul falls to militants, Iraqi forces flee northern city -- Reuters
Insurgents seize Iraqi city of Mosul as troops flee -- Washington Post
Iraq’s Second-Largest City Falls to Extremists -- Time
Militants Overrun Iraq's Second-Largest City As Government Forces Flee -- WSJ
Isis insurgents seize control of Iraqi city of Mosul -- The Guardian
Fighting and Chaos in Mosul as Insurgents Seize Airport, Governor’s Office -- Rudaw
Militants Seize Mosul as Iraq’s Maliki Vows Swift Response -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Iraq On the Brink as Islamists Have Own Surge -- ABC News
Arms Windfall for Insurgents as Iraq City Falls -- New York Times

My Comment: To put it bluntly .... this is a disaster for Iraq, and for the Middle East as a whole.