Dozens killed as militants take most of key Iraq town

Iraqi tribesmen carry their weapons as they gather to show their willingness to join Iraqi security forces in the fight against Jihadist militants who have taken over several northern Iraqi cities, yesterday,  in the southern city of Basra.

AFP

Militants have seized most of a key Shia majority town in northern Iraq, a government official said on Tuesday, in fighting that has killed dozens of civilians and combatants.
Security forces and civilian fighters still hold parts of Tal Afar, in Nineveh province, along a strategic corridor to Syria, according to deputy provincial council chief Nuriddin Qabalan.
Qabalan said militants controlled most of Tal Afar and the surrounding area, adding there were pockets of resistance, and that soldiers, policemen and residents held on to parts of the airport.
Fifty civilians were killed in the violence, along with dozens of militants and members of the security forces, he said.
Mohammed al-Bayati, a Tal Afar native who heads the security committee on Nineveh provincial council, said between 500 and 700 militants were involved in the assault.
Militants in the past week took control of the vast majority of Nineveh province as part of a swift offensive that saw them seize provincial capital Mosul as well as parts of three other provinces.

Militants attack parts of Baquba: security
Militants attacked and took control of parts of the central Iraq city of Baquba but security forces eventually repelled the assault on Tuesday, army and police officers said.
The overnight attack took place in the centre of Baquba, capital of Diyala province, and according to the officers, saw militants temporarily occupying several neighbourhoods.
The city, located just 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of Baghdad, is the closest the fighting has come to the capital since a major militant offensive swept down from the north last week.
Security forces performed poorly during the initial assault, in some cases abandoning uniforms and vehicles to flee, but seem to be recovering somewhat from the shock of the onslaught, and have begun to push back.