Iraq: Tikrit Seized As Militants Surge South

Militants from an al Qaeda splinter group have launched a wave of attacks south of captured Mosul a day after more than 500,000 people fled the city.

Iraqi police said Sunni rebels from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) had seized control of Tikrit and freed hundreds of prisoners, AFP news agency reported.

The provincial governor, who is based in the city, is missing, officials have told AP.

An estimated 500,000 people have fled Mosul and the surrounding area

The city, which is the hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein, lies roughly halfway between the capital, Baghdad, and Mosul, which was captured on Tuesday.

In northern Baghdad a suicide bomber killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 30 others after detonating explosives inside a tent where local Shiite tribal leaders were meeting.

Some 250 guards at Iraq's largest oil refinery in Baiji were also forced to withdraw to another town after ISIL militants sent a delegation of tribal chiefs to persuade them to pull out.

ISIL fighters wave their flag at the Sykes Picot Border. Pic: albaraka_news

Video footage also showed fighting on the outskirts of Kirkuk, close to the Kurdistan region, and there were reports of clashes further south at an entrance to the city of Samarra, which is just 70 miles (110km) north of Baghdad.

A senior official from the Shiite-led government said the production of crude oil in Iraq - which produces around 3.5 million barrels of oil per day - could be affected after the attack on Baiji.

In Mosul, gunmen wearing military uniforms and all-black clothing have been guarding banks and government buildings and calling over loudspeakers for government employees to return to work.

Insurgents have struck in Mosul, Baiji, Tikrit and Kirkuk

The militants also seized the Turkish consulate in the second city and reportedly kidnapped the head of the diplomatic mission and 48 staff members, according to police.

Turkey's foreign minister said Ankara will retaliate if any of its citizens are hurt.

Families have made their way into the Kurdistan region, which has its own military force, the Peshmerga.

People celebrate as ISIL fighters occupy Mosul. Pic: albaraka_news

One police officer said: "We need a whole army to drive them out of Mosul. They're like ghosts: they appear, strike and disappear in seconds."

Ninevah province governor Atheel al Nujaifi said authorities had a plan to restore security.

Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has asked parliament to declare a state of emergency that would grant him additional powers to tackle the crisis.

People queue at a border crossing into the Kurdistan region

He also appealed for help from the international community.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Baghdad will co-operate with Kurdish forces to "flush out these foreign fighters".

Influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr has called for the formation of militia units to help defend religious sites.

ISIL has made serious gains in Iraq in the last year, seizing control of the city of Falluja and parts of Ramadi.

Led by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, it was formed after a split with al Qaeda's international leader, Ayman al Zawahiri.

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