Satu merebut imej yang diambil dari video propaganda yang dimuat naik pada 8 Jun 2014, oleh kumpulan jihad Negara Islam Iraq dan Levant (ISIL) didakwa menunjukkan militan ISIL memandu dalam kenderaan berhampiran bandar Iraq tengah Tikrit (An image grab taken from a propaganda video uploaded on June 8, 2014, by the jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) allegedly shows ISIL militants driving in vehicles near the central Iraqi city of Tikrit (AFP Photo)
Srikandi גבורה - Militan Sunni radikal Al-Qaeda cabangnya, Negara Islam di Iraq dan Levant (ISIS/ISIL) adalah memajukan dan menawan bandar2 di utara Iraq. Golongan ini yg tlh mengisytiharkan penawanan ibu kota Baghdad sebagai objektif keutamaan mereka.
Ahad 15 jun
02:09 GMT:
Bantuan Amerika Syarikat ke Iraq dalam menentang militan jihad akan berjaya hanya jika pemimpin Iraq mengatasi bahagian dalam, Setiausaha Negara Amerika Syarikat John Kerry telah memberitahu rakan Iraq beliau, Hoshyar Zebari.
Kerry bercakap dengan Menteri Luar Zebari kelmarin, Jabatan Negara berkata dalam satu kenyataan.
"Beliau menekankan kepada Menteri Luar yang bantuan dari Amerika Syarikat hanya akan berjaya jika pemimpin Iraq sanggup mengetepikan perbezaan dan melaksanakan pendekatan yang selaras dan berkesan untuk menjalin perpaduan nasional perlu untuk menggerakkan negara ke hadapan dan menghadapi ancaman ISIL, "kata kenyataan itu, merujuk kepada militan Islam yang telah mengambil alih beberapa bandar-bandar penting Iraq.
CAM Pertempuran: HALICOPTER Gunship Mi-35 tembak peluru berpandu ke Militan di IRAQ . . .
Rakaman yg dikeluarkan oleh Kementerian Pertahanan pd hari Sabtu menunjukkan helikopter mensasarkan apa yang Iraq berkata sasaran militan Sunni di utara Iraq. Mi-35 helikopter Gunship melepaskan peluru berpandu di beberapa bangunan & kende-raan di wilayah Ninevah dan Salaheddin.
COMBAT Cam: Mi-35 halicopter Gunship fires
missiles at Militants in IRAQ . . .
Footage released by defense ministry on Saturday show a helicopter gunship targeting what Iraq says are Sunni militant targets in northern Iraq. The Mi-35 helicopter gunship fired missiles at several buildings and a vehicle in the provinces of Ninevah and Salaheddin.
Sabtu 14 Jun
14:02 GMT:
Tentera udara Iraq telah membunuh lebih daripada 200 ISIS militan pejuang di bandar Baiji, Iraq News melaporkan di laman webnya.
"Lebih daripada 200 unsur-unsur ISIS terbunuh apabila mereka telah dibom oleh Tentera Udara Iraq di salah satu arked di Baiji City," sumber keselamatan memberitahu media tempatan.
Baiji adalah sebuah pusat perindustrian utama terkenal dgn kilang penapisan minyak, yang terbesar di Iraq, & mempunyai loji kuasa yg besar. Militan cuba utk mensabotaj kerja-kerja penapisan.
Sunday, June 15
02:09 GMT:
US assistance to Iraq in its fight against jihadist militants would be successful only if Iraqi leaders overcome deep divisions, US Secretary of State John Kerry has told his Iraqi counterpart, Hoshyar Zebari.
Kerry spoke with Foreign Minister Zebari on Saturday, the State Department said in a statement.
"He emphasized to the Foreign Minister that assistance from the United States would only be successful if Iraqi leaders were willing to put aside differences and implement a coordinated and effective approach to forge the national unity necessary to move the country forward and confront the threat of ISIL," the statement said, referring to the Islamist militants who have taken over several important Iraqi cities.
Saturday, June 14
14:02 GMT:
Iraq’s air force has killed more than 200 ISIS militants fighters in Baiji city, Iraqi News reported on its website.
“More than 200 ISIS elements were killed when they were bombed by the Iraqi Air Force in one of the arcades in Baiji City,” security sources told the local media.
Baiji is a major industrial center best known for its oil refinery, the biggest in Iraq, and has a large power plant. The militants were trying to sabotage the work of the refinery.
12:30 GMT:
For more expert analysis on Iraq, watch the interview with political analyst Said Arikat.(Untuk analisis pakar lanjut mengenai Iraq, menonton temu bual itu dgn penganalisis politik Said Arikat).
10:58 GMT:
Iraq FM Hoshyar Zebari telah meminta bantuan Barat untuk membendung militan Sunni radikal daripada Al-Qaeda cabang Negara Islam di Iraq dan Levant (ISIS/ISIL).
Menteri Luar menerangkan krisis di negara itu sebagai "titik perubahan" untuk Iraq, "dan" bencana besar-besaran."
"Anda boleh melihat keadaan dalam 2 cara - anda boleh melihat ia sebagai satu rahmat dalam samaran atau sebagai satu cara ke arah partition," katanya kepada Financial Times. "Keadaan ini perlu ditangani dgn segera. Jika (ISIS/ISIL) kuasa mutlak untuk menyingkirkan dirinya, maka Iraq akan memecahkan."
07:18 GMT:
Di tengah-tengah keruntuhan tentera Iraq, desertions dan pengkhianatan, ada pula laporan dari ahli tertinggi angkatan tentera 'yang militan dengan Negara Islam Iraq dan Levant juga tlh ditangkap berbilion-bilion dolar dlm senjata dan peralatan Amerika kerana mereka maju melalui wilayah2 utara negara menangkap pangkalan tentera.
Pegawai melaporkan bahawa militia pelampau 2,000 kukuh juga telah merampas hampir setengah juta ringgit dari bank-bank di Mosul, bandar kedua terbesar di Iraq. Militan tlh pun cuba helikopter tentera & kenderaan tempur Humvee dlm demonstrasi kejayaan mereka.
06:47 GMT:
Golongan Jihad telah bergerak dalam jarak yang menarik Baghdad sekelip mata, sebagai militan pun cuba kenderaan tentera yang ditawan selepas mengambil kawalan 2 kota dalam perjalanan ke tengah-tengah negara ini, termasuk di bandar utama Bacquba.
Pertempuran dgn pasukan keselamatan masih diteruskan pagi Sabtu selepas pasukan keselamatan di Jalawla dan Saadiyah dilihat sekali lagi meninggalkan kedudukan mereka, membolehkan pendahuluan pelampau jauh ke dalam kawasan pergunungan wilayah Diyala, langkah terakhir dalam perjalanan ke ibu negara. Negara Islam di Iraq dan Levant kini 50km dari ibu kota.
Apa yg membimbangkan angka tertinggi dlm angkatan tentera Iraq ialah peng-khianatan seolah-olah utk mencapai tokoh terkemuka yg tentera, apabila kebimbangan bahawa angka berpengaruh dari era Saddam yang menggerakkan peningkatan minoriti Sunni besar negara.
01:20 GMT:
Pentagon mengeluarkan kenyataan mengatakan bahawa Setiausaha Pertahanan Ame-rika Syarikat Chuck Hagel secara berterusan membincangkan pilihan tentera di Iraq dengan pemimpin-pemimpin kanan jabatan.
"Sejak beberapa yang lepas 36 jam, setiausaha telah memenuhi beberapa kali dengan pemimpin-pemimpin kanan tentera bagi membincangkan jumlah di atas tapak dan untuk menyediakan pilihan untuk pertimbangan presiden," Pentagon setiausaha akhbar Belakang Adm John Kirby kepada pemberita pada hari Jumaat.
Orang-orang pilihan utk pertimbangan Presiden Obama "meliputi pelbagai keupayaan tentera dan akan direka, untuk membantu memecahkan momentum kemajuan ISIL dan meningkatkan pasukan keselamatan Iraq."
Kirby berkata "apa-apa keputusan untuk mengambil pilihan ini bergantung semata-mata dengan ketua dalam komander".
Tentera Amerika Syarikat menawarkan Iraq pasukan keselamatan "Sokongan counter-terrorism," katanya, termasuk perisikan, pengawasan, dan peninjauan (ISR).
"Kami telah meningkatkan sokongan ISR ini di hari baru-baru ini atas permintaan kerajaan Iraq," kata Kirby.
Tambahnya pengangkut pesawat USS George HW Bush, bersama-sama dgn kumpulan serangan, adalah berdekatan di rantau ini.
"Saya juga rasa ia penting untuk ingat bahawa kita mempunyai beberapa 35,000 anggota tentera Amerika Syarikat di rantau Timur Tengah," kata Kirby. "Tentera Kami ada bekerja rapat setiap hari dengan rakan kongsi kami untuk mempertahankan terhadap pencerobohan luar dan rangkaian pengganas yang mengancam Amerika dan sekutu-sekutunya."
00:53 GMT:
Atas pegawai hak asasi manusia Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu tlh menyuarakan "penggera melampau" lebih hukuman ringkasnya, rogol, pembunuhan balas, dan keganasan terhadap orang awam secara keseluruhan, berkata terdapat beratus-ratus mangsa sebagai pemberontak meneruskan ke Baghdad.
Ahli-ahli ISIS, "termasuk tahanan mereka telah dibebaskan dari penjara di Mosul dan disediakan dengan senjata, telah aktif mencari - dan dalam beberapa kes membunuh - tentera, polis & lain2, termasuk orang awam, yg mereka anggap sebagai yg berkaitan dengan kerajaan, "kata Navi Pillay, Pesuruhjaya Tinggi Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu bagi Hak Asasi Manusia.
Walaupun kiraan muktamad mangsa tidak diketahui, "bilangan orang yang terbunuh dalam konflik di hari baru2 ini mungkin berjalan ke dalam beratus-ratus, & bilangan yang cedera dikatakan menghampiri 1,000," kata Pillay.
Pillay berkata pemberontak berada di bawah "penelitian tertentu" berdasarkan pelang-garan hak asasi manusia yang didakwa dilakukan oleh ISIS dan militan lain semasa perang saudara di Syria.
Jumaat Jun 13
20:27 GMT:
Amerika Syarikat mungkin mula menyediakan bantuan ketenteraan kepada kerajaan Iraq dalam masa beberapa hari, Presiden Barack Obama berkata Jumaat, sebagai pelampau terus merampas bandar-bandar utama terdapat di tengah-tengah kempen ganas menggiatkan pemberontakan.
Bercakap di luar White House, Presiden itu berkata beliau telah membincangkan krisis di Iraq dengan Majlis Keselamatan Negara beliau awal hari dan tidak lama lagi akan mendedahkan apa tindakan, jika ada, Amerika Syarikat akan mengambil berhubung dengan keadaan.
Sehari sebelumnya, beliau menjawab soalan mengenai krisis di sana dgn mengatakan pentadbirannya adalah "bersedia utk mengambil tindakan ketenteraan apabila kese-lamatan negara kita terancam."
10:58 GMT:
Iraq’s FM Hoshyar Zebari has asked for the West’s help to stem radical Sunni militants from Al-Qaeda offshoot the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS/ISIL).
The foreign minister described the crisis in the country as a “turning point” for Iraq," and a “massive disaster.”
“You can look at the situation in two ways – you can see it as a blessing in disguise or as a way towards partition,” he told the Financial Times. “The situation has to be addressed quickly. If (ISIS/ISIL)entrenches itself, then Iraq will fragment.”
07:18 GMT:
Amid Iraqi military collapse, desertions and treason, there are also reports from the armed forces’ top figures that militants with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have also captured billions of dollars in American weapons and equipment as they advanced through the country’s northern provinces capturing army bases. Officials report that the 2,000-strong extremist militia has also seized close to a half-million dollars from banks in Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city. The militants were parading army helicopters and Humvee combat vehicles in a demonstration of their successes.
06:47 GMT:
The Jihadists have moved within striking distance of Baghdad overnight, as militants parading captured army vehicles after taking control of two more cities on the way to the heart of the country, which includes the key city of Bacquba. Clashes with security forces were still ongoing Saturday morning after security forces in Jalawla and Saadiyah were seen once again abandoning their positions, allowing for a deeper extremist advance into the mountainous regions of the Diyala province, the last step on the way to the capital. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant is now 50km away from the capital.
What is worrying to top figures in Iraq’s armed forces is that treason seems to reach the top echelons of the military, as fears of influential figures from the Saddam era mobilizing the country’s large Sunni minority increase.
01:20 GMT:
The Pentagon released a statement saying that US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is continually discussing military options in Iraq with senior department leaders.
“Over the last 36 hours, the secretary has met a number of times with senior military leaders to discuss events on the ground and to prepare options for the president's consideration,” Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters on Friday. Those options for President Obama’s consideration “cover a wide range of military capabilities and will be designed, as to help break the momentum of ISIL's progress and bolster Iraqi security forces.”
Kirby said “any decision to employ these options rests solely with the commander in chief.”
The US military is offering Iraq security forces “counterterrorism support,” he said, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).
“We have intensified this ISR support in recent days at the request of the Iraqi government,” Kirby said.
He added that the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, along with its strike group, are nearby in the region.
“I also think it's important to remember that we have some 35,000 U.S. military personnel in the Middle East region,” Kirby said. “Our forces there work closely each and every day with our partners to defend against external aggression and terrorist networks that threaten America and its allies.”
00:53 GMT:
The United Nations' top human rights official has voiced "extreme alarm" over summary executions, rape, retaliatory killings, and overall violence towards civilians, saying there have been hundreds of casualties as insurgents press on to Baghdad.
Members of ISIS, “including prisoners they had released from jails in Mosul and provided with arms, have been actively seeking out — and in some cases killing — soldiers, police and others, including civilians, whom they perceive as being associated with the government,” said Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Though a definitive count of casualties is unknown, “the number of people killed in the conflict in recent days may run into the hundreds, and the number of wounded is said to be approaching 1,000,” Pillay said.
Pillay added that insurgents are under “particular scrutiny” based on the human rights violations allegedly committed by ISIS and other militants during the Syrian civil war.
Friday, June 13
20:27 GMT:
The United States may begin providing military assistance to the Iraqi government within days, President Barack Obama said Friday, as extremists continue to seize major cities there in the midst of an intensifying violent campaign of insurgency.
Speaking outside of the White House, the president said he has discussed the crisis in Iraq with his National Security Council earlier in the day and will soon reveal what action, if any, the US will take with regards to the situation. A day earlier, he answered a question about the crisis there by saying his administration is “prepared to take military action whenever our national security is threatened.”
14:18 GMT:
Helikopter tentera Iraq dipecat roket di salah satu masjid terbesar di bandar Tikrit pada hari Jumaat, pegawai-pegawai dan saksi tempatan berkata. Ia tidak jelas jika terdapat mana-mana mangsa dalam serangan di Tikrit, tempat asal Saddam Hussein yang telah ditakluki oleh pemberontak awal minggu ini.
11:34 GMT:
Pemberontak Sunni berjuang militia Syiah Iraq di 2 lokasi di wilayah Diyala pada hari Jumaat, sumber keselamatan dan seorang pegawai tempatan memberitahu Reuters. Pertempuran berlaku pd Udhaim, kira-kira 90 km di utara Baghdad & di Muqdadiya, 80 km timur laut ibu negara.
14:18 GMT:
Iraqi army helicopters fired rockets on one of the largest mosques in the city of Tikrit on Friday, local officials and witnesses said. It was unclear if there were any casualties in the strikes on Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein which was overrun by insurgents earlier this week.
11:34 GMT:
Sunni insurgents fought Iraqi Shi'ite militia at two locations in Diyala province on Friday, a security source and a local official told Reuters. The clashes took place in Udhaim, about 90 km north of Baghdad and in Muqdadiya, 80 km northeast of the capital.
Jumaat Jun 13
14:18 GMT:
Helikopter tentera Iraq dipecat roket di salah satu masjid terbesar di bandar Tikrit pada hari Jumaat, pegawai-pegawai dan saksi tempatan berkata. Ia tidak jelas jika terdapat mana-mana mangsa dalam serangan di Tikrit, tempat asal Saddam Hussein yang telah ditakluki oleh pemberontak awal minggu ini.
11:34 GMT:
Pemberontak Sunni berjuang militia Syiah Iraq di dua lokasi di wilayah Diyala pada hari Jumaat, sumber keselamatan & seorang pegawai tempatan memberitahu Reuters. Pertempuran berlaku pd Udhaim, kira-kira 90 km di utara Baghdad dan di Muqdadiya, 80 km timur laut ibu negara.
Al-Qaeda offshoot in Iraq offensive LIVE UPDATES
Radical Sunni militants of Al-Qaeda offshoot, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS/ISIL) are advancing and capturing cities in the north of Iraq. The jihadists have declared the capture of the capital Baghdad as their top priority objective.
Friday, June 13
14:18 GMT:
Iraqi army helicopters fired rockets on one of the largest mosques in the city of Tikrit on Friday, local officials and witnesses said. It was unclear if there were any casualties in the strikes on Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein which was overrun by insurgents earlier this week.
11:34 GMT:
Sunni insurgents fought Iraqi Shi'ite militia at two locations in Diyala province on Friday, a security source and a local official told Reuters. The clashes took place in Udhaim, about 90 km north of Baghdad and in Muqdadiya, 80 km northeast of the capital.
Pejuang Negara Islam Iraq dan Levant (ISIL) berkawal di pusat pemeriksaan di bandar Iraq utara Mosul, 11 Jun 2014 (Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) stand guard at a checkpoint in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, June 11, 2014 (Reuters)
10:25 GMT:
Iraq Grand Ayatollah Sistani, salah satu ulama yang paling berpengaruh di negara ini, menggesa rakyat Iraq untuk mengangkat senjata dan mempertahankan negara mereka.
10:11 GMT:
Golongan Sunni sedang membuat persediaan untuk serangan ke atas Samarra, rumah kepada yang dihormati Al-Askari Syiah kuil, serangan keganasan di mana pada tahun 2006 telah mencetuskan perang sektarian di Iraq. Militan tlh mencuba utk menangkap Samarra, 110km dari ibu negara, Baghdad, dua kali sejak dua minggu lepas.
Pasukan keselamatan puak tempatan telah ditolak cadangan militan untuk mening-galkan secara aman walaupun militan berjanji untuk tidak menghancurkan tempat itu. Satu letupan bom pada tahun 2006 menyebabkan pergaduhan besar-besaran di seluruh negara dan kematian puluhan ribu orang.
10:25 GMT:
Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Sistani, one of the country's most influential clerics, urges Iraqis to take up arms and defend their country.
10:11 GMT:
Sunni jihadists are preparing for an assault on Samarra, home to a revered Al-Askari Shia shrine, a terror attack on which back in 2006 already sparked a sectarian war in Iraq. The militants have already tried to capture Samarra, 110km from the capital, Baghdad, twice over the last two weeks.
The local tribal security forces have turned down the proposal of the militants to leave peacefully though militants promised not to destroy the shrine. A bomb explosion in 2006 resulted in mass fighting throughout the country and the deaths of tens of thousands of people.
09:45 GMT:
For latest news and analysis, watch Gayane Chichakyan's report (Untuk berita terkini dan analisis, menonton laporan Gayane Chichakyan ini)
09:35 GMT:
Bilangan orang terbunuh selepas militan Sunni Islam menakluki bandar Iraq Mosul mungkin berjalan ke dalam beratus-ratus, berkata PBB jurucakap hak asasi manusia Rupert Colville. Pembunuhan termasuk pelaksanaan 17 orang awam bekerja untuk polis dan seorang pekerja mahkamah.
4 wanita telah membunuh diri selepas dirogol, manakala 16 Georgia telah diculik, dan banduan yang dikeluarkan oleh militan telah mencari untuk membalas dendam kepada orang-orang yang bertanggungjawab untuk pemenjaraan mereka, katanya.
"Kami juga telah ada laporan yang membayangkan kuasa-kuasa kerajaan juga komited yang berlebihan, khususnya serang pada kawasan awam pada 6 dan 8 Jun," katanya. "Terdapat dakwaan bahawa sehingga 30 orang awam mungkin telah dibunuh."
Sesetengah, 500,000 juga pelarian dalam konflik tersebut.
06:08 GMT:
Pemberontak di Iraq menyinggung perasaan mereka pada malam Khamis, mengambil kawalan 2 bandar2 di wilayah Diyala, kata Reuters. Pejuang dilaporkan menakluki bandar-bandar Saadiyah dan Jalawla selepas pasukan keselamatan meninggalkan jawatan mereka.
Khamis Jun 12
23:58 GMT:
Sejak tahun lepas, Amerika Syarikat telah secara rahsia menerbangkan pesawat tanpa pemandu ke atas Iraq untuk mengumpul risikan mengenai pemberontak, pegawai tanpa nama memberitahu The Wall Street Journal.
Perisikan berkumpul dalam program ini terhad itu diberikan kepada kerajaan Iraq, yang memberikan persetujuan bagi penerbangan dan kini dikunci dalam pertempuran sengit di seluruh negara dengan Al-Qaeda cabang ISIS.
"Ia tidak suka melakukan apa-apa yang baik," kata seorang pegawai kanan Amerika Syarikat kira-kira data yang dikumpul pada pejuang Islam yang telah ditangkap Mosul dan Tikrit, antara kawasan-kawasan lain, di hari baru-baru ini.
22:26 GMT:
Jabatan Negara Amerika Syarikat berkata kontraktor Amerika di Iraq sedang dipin-dahkan buat sementara oleh majikan mereka kerana masalah keselamatan, Reuters melaporkan.
"Kami boleh mengesahkan bahawa rakyat Amerika Syarikat, di bawah kontrak kepada Kerajaan Iraq, bagi menyokong program Jualan Ketenteraan Asing Amerika Syarikat (FMS) di Iraq, sedang dipindahkan buat sementara oleh syarikat-syarikat mereka kerana masalah keselamatan di kawasan itu," kata Jabatan Negara. jurucakap Jen Psaki dalam satu kenyataan.
20:38 GMT:
Harga minyak telah mencecah paras tertinggi 9 bulan akibat daripada keganasan yang sedang berlaku di Iraq, menurut Reuters. Pejuang ISIS telah dikelilingi penapisan terbesar negara, di bandar utara Baiji, yang membawa kepada kebimbangan output terhad daripada pengeluar OPEC yang ke-2 terbesar.
"Takut adalah yang akan menyebabkan ancaman kepada eksport minyak Iraq," kata Christopher Bellew, seorang peniaga di Jefferies Bache. "Jika konflik ini tersingkir Iraq sebagai pengeksport, yang akan mempunyai impak yang besar ke atas harga."
19:41 GMT:
Turki telah dipanggil pada mana-mana rakyat di Iraq untuk meninggalkan negara ini. Kementerian Luar Turki telah mencadangkan bahawa tidak ada perjalanan ke jiran selatan, mengikut Hurriyet Daily News. Kenyataan itu berikut penculikan 80 warga Turki yang sedang diadakan di Mosul. Turki telah berikrar tindakan balas jika ada yang dicederakan.
19:33 GMT:
3 ‘planeloads’ rakyat Amerika sedang dipindahkan dari pangkalan udara Iraq, AP melaporkan. Asas ini terletak di sebuah wilayah Sunni di utara negara ini. Pegawai-pegawai bercakap kepada keadaan tidak mahu namanya disiarkan diberikan kepekaan keadaan.
16:45 GMT:
Presiden Amerika Syarikat, Barack Obama telah berkata bahawa dia menimbang kemungkinan pilihan yg dalam hal keadaan di Iraq. "Saya tidak menolak apa-apa," kata Obama kepada pemberita di White House.
16:44 GMT:
Naib Presiden Amerika Syarikat Joe Biden telah memanggil Menteri Iraq Perdana Menteri Nuri al-Maliki untuk membincangkan keadaan keselamatan di negara ini, kata seorang pegawai Amerika Syarikat kepada Reuters.
16:10 GMT:
Petang Khamis udara jatuh menyaksikan unit elit pendahuluan tentera Iraq di lapangan terbang dan pentadbiran pusat Mosul, yang telah ditangkap oleh militan Al-Qaeda, Al-Mayadeen saluran TV dilaporkan. Penganalisis tentera di Baghdad berharap ini akan memberi kelebihan tegas untuk tentera kerajaan. Tentera Iraq juga telah diperkukuh di wilayah jiran Salah ad Din, di mana pertempuran mengamuk di bandar itu yang strategik penting Sulaiman-Bek.
15:21 GMT:
Walaupun saham Eropah baki kedudukan, harga minyak telah mencecah paras 3 bulan pada kebimbangan mengenai keganasan di Iraq. "Selepas itu perhimpunan yang baik, ia bukan masa utk membeli sekarang, lebih baik hanya untuk duduk di atas keuntungan anda. Pasaran agak terdedah kepada berita negatif pada masa ini, "Philippe de Vandiere, penganalisis atAltedia Pelaburan Consulting di Paris kepada Reuters.
14:43 GMT:
Militan telah dikelilingi kilang penapisan minyak terbesar, polis Iraq dan orang dalam jurutera utiliti kepada Reuters. Militan Sunni tiba di tempat kejadian di lebih daripada 50 kenderaan yang berbeza selepas berundur pada Selasa.
12:58 GMT:
Wabak keganasan di Iraq adalah hasil daripada dasar double standard dan ‘inferens’ dalam hal-ehwal negara berdaulat, Kementerian Luar Rusia telah berkata dalam satu kenyataan.
"Daripada pengalaman beberapa tahun lalu dan perkembangan konflik di Syria, Iraq dan negara-negara lain di Timur Tengah, kesimpulan yang perlu diambil kira-kira bahaya memikat pelampau," kata Aleksandr Lukashevich, jurucakap Kementerian Luar Rusia .
12:34 GMT:
Penculik 28 pemandu Turki di Mosul Iraq menuntut $ 5 Juta tebusan untuk kebebasan tawanan mereka. Menurut maklumat dari Persatuan Pemandu Turki', militan yang ditangkap warga Turki milik ISIS, satu cabang Al-Qaeda. Syarikat Turki yang memiliki kapal tangki ditangkap sedang berunding dengan penculik. Trak telah menghantar minyak pemanasan ke loji kuasa berhampiran Mosul, tetapi stesen itu telahpun tawan oleh militan ISIS.
09:35 GMT:
The number of people killed after Sunni Islamist militants overran the Iraqi city of Mosul may run into the hundreds, UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said. The killings included the execution of 17 civilians working for the police and a court employee.
Four women had killed themselves after being raped, while 16 Georgians had been kidnapped, and prisoners released by the militants had been looking to exact revenge on those responsible for their incarceration, he said.
"We've also had reports suggesting that the government forces have also committed excesses, in particular the shelling of civilian areas on 6 and 8 June," he said. "There are claims that up to 30 civilians may have been killed."
Some, 500,000 were also displaced in the conflict.
06:08 GMT:
Insurgents in Iraq continued their offensive on Thursday night, taking control of two towns in the province of Diyala, says Reuters. Fighters reportedly overran the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla after security forces abandoned their posts.
Thursday, June 12
23:58 GMT:
Since last year, the US has secretly flown unmanned drones over Iraq to gather intelli-gence on insurgents, anonymous officials told The Wall Street Journal.
Intelligence gathered in the limited program was supplied to the Iraqi government, which consented to the flights and is now locked in fierce battles across the nation with Al-Qaeda offshoot ISIS.
"It's not like it did any good,” a senior US official said about the data collected on Islamist fighters who have captured Mosul and Tikrit, among other areas, in recent days.
22:26 GMT:
The US State Department says US contractors in Iraq are being temporarily relocated by their employers due to security concerns, Reuters reported.
"We can confirm that U.S. citizens, under contract to the Government of Iraq, in support of the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program in Iraq, are being temporarily relocated by their companies due to security concerns in the area," said State Dept. spokeswoman Jen Psaki in a statement.
20:38 GMT:
Oil prices have hit nine-month highs as a result of ongoing violence in Iraq, according to Reuters. ISIS fighters have surrounded the nation’s largest refinery, in the northern city of Baiji, leading to concerns of limited output from the second-largest OPEC producer.
"The fear is that will cause a threat to Iraqi oil exports," said Christopher Bellew, a trader at Jefferies Bache. "If this conflict knocked out Iraq as an exporter, that would have significant impact on prices."
19:41 GMT:
Turkey has called on any citizens in Iraq to leave the country. The Turkish Foreign Ministry has recommended that there is no travel to its southern neighbor, according to Hurriyet Daily News. The statement follows the abduction of 80 Turkish citizens who are being held in Mosul. Turkey has vowed retaliation if any are harmed.
19:33 GMT:
Three planeloads of Americans are being evacuated from an Iraq airbase, AP reported. The base is located in a Sunni territory in the north of the country. Officials spoke on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.
16:45 GMT:
US President Barack Obama has said that he is contemplating all possible options in regards to the situation in Iraq. "I don't rule anything out," Obama told reporters at the White House.
16:44 GMT:
US Vice President Joe Biden has called Iraq Prime Minister Minister Nuri al-Maliki to discuss the security situation in the country, a US official told Reuters.
16:10 GMT:
A Thursday afternoon air drop saw elite units of the Iraqi army advance on the airport and administrative center of Mosul, which has been captured by Al-Qaeda-linked militants, Al-Mayadeen TV channel reported. Military analysts in Baghdad hope this will give a decisive advantage to government forces. The Iraqi army has also been strengthened in the neighboring province of Salah ad Din, where a battle is raging for the strategically important town of Sulaiman-Bek.
15:21 GMT:
While European shares are remaining stead, oil prices have hit a three month high on anxiety over violence in Iraq. “After such a good rally, it's not the time to buy right now, it's better just to sit on your gains. The market is quite vulnerable to negative news at the moment,” Philippe de Vandiere, analyst atAltedia Investment Consulting in Paris told Reuters.
14:43 GMT:
Militants have surrounded Iraq’s largest oil refinery, police and an engineer insider the utility told Reuters. Sunni militants arrived at the scene in more than 50 different vehicles after having retreated on Tuesday.
12:58 GMT:
The outbreak of violence in Iraq is the result of a policy of double standards and inference in the affairs of sovereign states, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said in a statement.
“From the experience of the past few years and the development of conflicts in Syria, Iraq and other countries in the Middle East, a conclusion needs to be drawn about the dangers of courting extremists,” said Aleksandr Lukashevich, spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.
12:34 GMT:
The kidnappers of 28 Turkish drivers in Iraq’s Mosul demand $5 million ransom for their captives’ freedom. According to information from the Turkish Drivers’ Association, the militants that captured Turkish citizens belong to ISIS, an Al-Qaeda offshoot. The Turkish company that owns the captured tankers is negotiating with the abductors. The trucks were delivering heating oil to a power plant near Mosul, but the station had already been captured by ISIS militants.
Pejuang Negara Islam Iraq dan Levant (ISIL) berkawal di pusat pemeriksaan di bandar Iraq utara Mosul, 11 Jun 2014 (Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) stand guard at a checkpoint in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, June 11, 2014 (Reuters)
