Sunni rebels from an al-Qaida splinter group overran the Iraqi city of Tikrit on Wednesday and closed in on the biggest oil refinery in the country, making further gains in their rapid military advance against the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad, according to The Associated Press.
The threat to the Baiji refinery comes after militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant seized the northern city of Mosul, advancing their aim of creating a Sunni Caliphate straddling the border between Iraq and Syria, the AP reported.
The fall of Mosul, Iraq's second biggest city, is a blow to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's attempts to defeat the militants, who have seized territory in Iraq over the past year following the withdrawal of U.S. forces, according to the AP.
About 500,000 Iraqis have fled Mosul, home to 2 million people, and the surrounding province, many seeking safety in the autonomous Kurdistan region, the AP reported.
Having also taken two small towns north of Baghdad, Dhiluiya and Yathrib, the insurgents are in control of between 10 and 15 pct of Iraqi territory, excluding Kurdistan, and have led many Iraqis to fear they have the capital, Baghdad, in their sights, according to the AP.
Security sources said ISIL militants on Wednesday drove more than 60 vehicles into Tikrit, the home town of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, which lies about 100 miles north of Baghdad, the AP reported. The militants occupied the provincial government headquarters and raised the black flag of ISIL.
"Our forces were caught by surprise, they never expected ISIL would use police and army Humvee vehicles, we mistook them for government forces and it was too late to stop them," said a police captain who fled from Tikrit to Samarra, according to the AP. "We are fighting devils and not ordinary people".
Around 100 ISIL fighters held mass prayers in central Tikrit after taking control, the AP reported. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Iraq's leaders must unite to face a "mortal" threat.
"There has to be a quick response to what has happened," Zebari said during a trip to Greece, according to the AP. Zebari said Baghdad would work with forces from Kurdistan in the north to drive the fighters out of Mosul after Iraqi security forces there fled on Tuesday.
