Militants Detain 48, including Turkish Consul and Seize Tikrit as Iraq Forces Repel Assault on Samarra
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Militants stormed the Turkish consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Wednesday and kidnapped 48 people including the head of the mission, a Turkish government official said.
"Forty-eight Turks including the consul, staff members, guards and three children were abducted," the official told Agence France Presse, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official said the diplomats were taken from the consulate building to the headquarters of the powerful jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Mosul.
"All are doing well," the official said, without elaborating.
The kidnappings come as jihadists spearheaded by ISIL have overrun swathes of Iraq including Mosul, in a spectacular blow to the Shiite-led government.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held an emergency meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay and spy chief Hakan Fidan to discuss security measures and how to secure the release of those kidnapped.
"All options are on the table including the evacuation of the consulate in Mosul," the official said.
Ankara also informed its NATO allies of the situation but stopped short from requesting any help, said a source after the meeting in Brussels.
Turkey pledged to retaliate if its 48 abducted citizens are harmed.
"All those involved should know that if our citizens are harmed in any way, they will be the subject of harsh reprisals," Turkish media quoted Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as saying at the United Nations in New York.
Davutoglu cut short a trip in New York, cancelling several meetings at the U.N. to head back to Turkey, a ministry official said.
The kidnappings come amid growing concern in Ankara over the rise of radical Islamist groups across the border in Syria.
Last month Turkey added the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaida's franchise in Syria which is accused of committing war crimes against civilians, to a list of terrorist organizations.
Davutoglu said his ministry had sent order to evacuate the consulate two days ago but were informed that it was more dangerous for the staff to leave because of security concerns.
"Right now, our priority is to bring our citizens back to the country alive, which is more important than unveiling an initiative of some kind," Davutoglu was quoted as saying without elaborating.
"All are doing well," he said, after canceling several meetings at the United Nations to head back to Turkey.
Turkey, which backs the uprising against President Bashar Assad, has repeatedly denied claims that it is providing shelter or backing al-Qaida linked groups in Syria.
The Mosul consulate said Tuesday that militants from ISIL, a radical jihadist group operating in Iraq and Syria, had seized 28 Turkish truck drivers.
Militants also took control of the Iraqi city of Tikrit and freed hundreds of prisoners, police said, the second provincial capital to fall in two days.
"All of Tikrit is in the hands of the militants," a police colonel said of the Salaheddin provincial capital, which lies roughly half way between Baghdad and Iraq's second city Mosul which fell on Tuesday.
A police brigadier general said that the militants attacked from the north, west and south of the city, and that they were from powerful jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
A police major said the militants had freed some 300 inmates from a prison in the city.
Meanwhile, Iraqi security forces repelled an assault by militants on the highly sensitive city of Samarra, witnesses said.
Samarra is home to a revered Shiite shrine that was bombed in 2006, sparking a sectarian conflict between Iraq's Shiite majority and Sunni Arab minority that left tens of thousands dead.
It lies just 110 kilometers (70 miles) north of Baghdad on the main highway from the country's second city Mosul, which jihadists seized on Tuesday.
Witnesses said militants arrived in trucks mounted with machineguns, and a policeman said his unit was battling them at the northwest entrance to Samarra.
Iraqiya state television reported that security forces carried out air strikes against them, though it was unclear whether helicopters or planes were used.
Witnesses later said the clashes ended without the militants entering the city.
It was not immediately clear what became of the attackers, but it was a local victory for security forces that have largely been swept aside by a major offensive spearheaded by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group.
As many as half a million Iraqis fled their homes as a result of the jihadist expansion, as the militiamen tightened their grip beyond second city Mosul, and vowed an even broader offensive.
In a spectacular blow to the Shiite-led government, the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and their allies on Tuesday seized Mosul and surrounding Nineveh province as well as a string of other northern towns.
And on Wednesday ISIL declared on Twitter that it was in "complete control" of all routes in and out of Nineveh, and promised it would "not stop this series of blessed invasions".
Members of the jihadist group also seized the Turkish consulate in Mosul and kidnapped the head of the diplomatic mission along with 24 staff, police said.
"ISIL members managed to kidnap the Turkish consul and 24 of his guards and assistants," the officer said.
The colonel said he had spoken with one of the kidnappers, who said those held "are safe with us," and will be moved to a "safer place".
Elsewhere, they executed 15 security personnel in Kirkuk province and tried to take the oil pipeline hub of Baiji, before withdrawing when troop reinforcements arrived, officials said.
The jihadist's surprise advance poses significant challenges to Baghdad, with a risk consultancy saying they would be bolstered by cash from Mosul's banks, hardware from military bases and hundreds of men they freed from prison.
It also sparked a massive exodus of civilians, with families piling into cars that flooded security checkpoints outside the northern city normally home to two million people.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has responded by asking parliament to declare emergency rule and announcing citizens would be armed to fight them, while the United States warned ISIL threatened the entire region.
On Wednesday, gunmen in military uniforms and all-black clothing guarded government buildings and banks in Mosul, said witnesses reached by telephone from Bashiqa, a town to the east.
They called over loudspeakers for government employees to go back to work.
"I did not open the door of the shop since last Thursday because of the security conditions," said Abu Ahmed, a 30-year-old shopkeeper.
The International Organization for Migration said its sources in Mosul estimated the violence leading up to the jihadists' takeover "displaced over 500,000 people in and around the city".
The violence "has resulted in a high number of casualties among civilians," the IOM said, adding fighting restricted access to four hospitals.
"Some mosques have been converted to clinics to treat casualties," it said.
Witnesses reported that dozens of families were still fleeing, but Abu Ahmed said: "I will remain in Mosul. This is my city in any case, and the city is calm now."
Bassam Mohammed, a 25-year-old student, said he too would stay.
"But I am afraid about freedoms, and I am especially afraid that they will impose new laws on us," he said.
Known for its ruthless tactics and suicide bombers, ISIL is arguably the most capable force fighting President Bashar Assad inside Syria as well as the most powerful militant group in Iraq.
The takeover of Mosul prompted the United States to voice deep concern about the "extremely serious" situation and warn that ISIL poses "a threat to the entire region".
ISIL is led by the shadowy Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and backed by thousands of Islamist fighters in Syria and Iraq, many of them Westerners, and it appears to be surpassing Al-Qaida as the world's most dangerous jihadist group.
On Wednesday, the Syrian government said it was ready to help Baghdad in its fight against "terrorism", while the rebel Free Syrian Army called for support from Arab states for its own battle against ISIL in Syria.
The New York-based Eurasia Group consultancy said the jihadist offensive would have limited impact on Iraq's oil exports, the majority of which are from the mainly Shiite south.
"ISIL will use cash reserves from Mosul's banks, military equipment from seized military and police bases, and the release of 2,500 fighters from local jails to bolster its military and financial capacity," said Ayham Kamel, its Middle East and north Africa director.
"We do not anticipate a sharp deterioration in the security environment in these more stable (southern) provinces that would materially impact Iraq's oil export volumes," he said.
Iraq, which boasts among the highest reserves of oil and gas in the world, produces about 3.5 million barrels of oil per day, with exports in February reaching 2.8 million bpd, the highest level in a quarter of a century.
A senior government official said "the oil sector is not affected and will not be affected by what is happening, because most of the facilities are in central and south Iraq."
But he warned that would change if the militants were to make a new, successful assault on Baiji, a key hub on the export pipeline from the northern oil fields around Kirkuk to Turkey.
11 June 2014, 12:00
62
Iraq under Iran's rule is a mess, never thought iraqis would regret butcher Saddam, but he's way better than Maliki and other farsi poodles...
11 June 2014, 16:08
52
US doesnt support assad ? LOL
If US and Israel didnt support assad, rebels would be armed like libyan ones and assad would be gone in few weeks. But why would they get rid of the best israeli border guard ? US and Israel support assad coz they know he'll destro syria and create alawitestan...
Iraq isnt under iranian rule ? u should lecture ME geopolitics in AUB...
http://youtu.be/jb3BcRh70oM
http://youtu.be/iVCKEmOnz7A
11 June 2014, 16:53
31
hey worm... the US supports assad... otherwise he would have gone 3 years ago.... poor idiot
11 June 2014, 17:00
41
sure syria never fired a single bullet to liberate its lands and protect the golan for the israelis with the blessings of the US!! LOL
11 June 2014, 17:46
41
haboub, tell us what assads did against israel except destroy the palestinian and leftist resistance ? Please explain me why for 40 years, they didnt attack the occupied golan.
Tell us why in the first place, Hafez left the golan to israelis without fighting ?
11 June 2014, 18:47
23
Good point habib. Cedre what has Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and all those so called sunnah countries ever done to Israel and to free Palestine? Nothing, only Iran Syria and Hezb ever supported them. So you really are a proven salafi. The fact is you salafis rather want to fight shias, than you even want to look Israels way. Thats why you are the weakest in the region. If you actually fought Israel instead of this garbage you started in Syria. Then we wouls be on the same side, but fact is you like the zionists more than us.
11 June 2014, 18:55
31
hey miss tic... syria never shot a single bullet to liberate the golan... they protect it for the israelis with the blessings of the US... that is the only reason why bashar is still in power because the israelis and the US want it!! nothing to do with your fake resistance!
LOL at your fake resistance! laughable you all are hezbi lovers....
11 June 2014, 19:09
21
East Jerusalem, is occupied from Jordan, did you ever hear them complain? You zionist minions are so false, that you accuse others of things, your own leaders does. Hafez Al Assad fought Israel almost alone during the 1973 war, Egypt betrayed him with Sadat making peace with Israel and USA. The true supporters of Zionists are you guys, who helped the Resistance against Israel in 2006? Nobody, just Syria and Iran logistical support. Saudi Arabia, are the guardians of Israel by starting the conflicts, and so is Qatar & Turkey, Jordan etc. And even M14
11 June 2014, 19:13
21
If you minions wants war against Israel so much, Why are you agains their biggest threat then? Which is the Resistance. Because you are the supporters of Zionists, there is no other reason than that. That is the undeniable proof.
11 June 2014, 19:16
21
@Mystic : there is no such thing as the "Resistance". And being against Hezbollah doesn't equate to being Zionist. It equates to being Lebanese patriots who want a sovereign state ! Hezbollah is an Iranian entity and has no drop of Lebanese spirit, leadership funding or weapons !
11 June 2014, 19:22
21
We are not talking about weapons now, You are just like a robot Candle, everytime something is said, you reply and repeat. "Hezbollah Weapons" "Iran Militia" We are talking about Israel now, and all you minions can reply, is how to weaken resistance against them. Who is the real zionist supporters? I will let regular people decide that.
11 June 2014, 19:25
30
sure, no hezbollah no more threat from israel... israel fights hezbollah not Lebanon...
and let hezbollah integrate the army if they are true patriots! a true patriot obey his state! not a party leader and not a foreign country!
so you see who the traitor is here ... certainly not those against hezbollah!
11 June 2014, 19:38
21
Real traitor is you, supporting the same zionist state, that murdered thousands of Lebanese not long ago, but ofcourse it was just Shia lives so it doesn't matter right ;)
11 June 2014, 19:43
31
@MISTAKE :
1- You FAIL to show how the hell I support Israel in any way. Please elaborate or shove your kalashnikov holding god's hand where the sun doesn't shine...
2- You FAIL to demonstrate how Hezbollah liberated Lebanon... a lie !
3- You FAIL to demonstrate Hezbollah's Lebanese identity and origin
4- You FAIL to demonstrate Hezbollah is really resisting Israel when it turned its weapons against Lebanese and Syrian civilians
Hezbollah is a big FAIL and LIE.
Prove any of the above points and maybe you can earn some respect. Until then, a TRAITOR you are for supporting the SYrian Regime and their 30 year occupation of Lebanon !
11 June 2014, 19:46
31
That is really typical you candle, when you lack of facts. You write off in CAPS and become hysterical, not hard to judge a person that gets aggressive online.
11 June 2014, 20:28
31
@Mistake : Again, you FAIL. Capslock doesn't mean hysterical... this is what you would like to believe :)
Everything goes down to Hezbollah weapons. There is no problem with Hezbollah other than its weapons and the crimes it conducted using its weapons.
Remove the weapons from the equation and we have a roadmap to peace and rebuilding our country. In fact, remove the weapons from the equation and we have a roadmap to liberating every last inch of land in this country through the only thing that works : dialogue, negociations and politics.
But your plan isn't peace, or stability, or sovereignty is it ? Your only plan is for Lebanon to remain weak so you can act without anyone holding you accountable for you actions and virtually take control of Lebanon.
11 June 2014, 20:30
31
You also fail to prove any of the points I raised showing you are empty of any arguments demonstrating the "noble" cause of Hezbollah. It's because there is nothing noble about it! Just another damn sectarian terrorist organisation controlled by a foreign country and allied to a dictator which occupied Lebanon and butchered Lebanese for 30 years !
11 June 2014, 21:25
31
The Resistance, that managed to end the Israeli occupation, and was able to beat back the Zionist attack on Lebanon 2006, while you cowards told Israel not to stop and continue. Yet again you dodge the facts
11 June 2014, 22:31
21
So you think a peace deal is the solution? Now that is crap. Proofs to me once again that you are a zionist no doubt.
11 June 2014, 23:50
02
@Mystic : You idiot ! Before we make peace with Israel, we have to make peace with each other. Before you drop your weapons, the "civil war" page is still not closed.
11 June 2014, 23:52
02
@Mystic : Stop talking about the resistance putting an end to Israeli Occupation : demonstrate to me how Hezbollah forced Israel to leave. I don't see this in the history books. No battle, nothing has led Israel to pack up and leave. And if it wasn't for international pressure, the 2006 war would have gone on until total destruction of our country.
12 June 2014, 02:55
00
It's amazing how quick you are to give ISIS so much credit. Please just think objectively for a moment. The Iraqi military PULLED OUT, without even a fight. Who does that mean ISIS is with? Even the Iraqi governor of Nineveh where Mosul is located is saying ISIS collaborated with Assad before moving In. And now, Maaliki is conveniently declaring a "state of emergency" and will arm civilians (future shabbiha anyone?) to take over the land back. Since when is a government that has tanks and war planes dependent on civilians with little rifles?? Just think about that without taking sides and thinking Assad and his allies are saints. Maaliki realized how successful Assad was at fooling people with his artificial takfiri scare, and wants a piece of the action to further consolidate his dictatorial powers.
11 June 2014, 12:22
01
president busch after 9 11 : I will take the war to you and wipe you out ....
and what we see now is one of the last chapters of exterminating the filthiest religious terrorists
god bless democracy
11 June 2014, 14:49
43
This is obviously Bashar sending some HA men dressed as ISLS on commands from Iran DUHHHH! Everyone knows this Viva the Head Chopping Democratic Rebels!!!
11 June 2014, 15:11
62
Questions u could help us with :
- how come that for 50 years, nobody ever escaped from abu ghraib but under maliki, takfiris escape by hundreds...
- why did iran give asylum to thousands of 'jihadists'from afghanistan, among them members of BinLaden's family ?
- did syrian mukhabarats help and train takfiris in iraq since 2003 ?
11 June 2014, 19:29
21
You speak sarcastically, but you've never been closer to the truth. The Iraqi military PULLED OUT, without even a fight. Who does that mean ISIS is with? Even the Iraqi governor of Nineveh where Mosul is located is saying ISIS collaborated with Assad before moving In. And now, Maaliki is conveniently declaring a "state of emergency" and will arm civilians (future shabbiha anyone?) to take over the land back. Since when is a government that has tanks and war planes dependent on civilians with little rifles?? Just think about that without taking sides and thinking Assad and his allies are saints. Maaliki realized how successful Assad was at fooling people with his artificial takfiri scare, and wants a piece of the action to further consolidate his dictatorial powers.
11 June 2014, 16:06
12
Silence?? Where are those who have been trumpeting democracy and change in Syria?? Hu?? Why all the silence?? This is a taste of the forces of darkness and Evil that would have invaded Lebanon had it not been for our resistance. This is the democracy and freedom promised to the Middle East. Will never happen, we - the enlightened - will prevail! and those butchers from the 9th century will return to their countries in body bags.
12 June 2014, 02:56
00
Nobody is being silent here. It's amazing how quick you are to give ISIS so much credit. Please just think objectively for a moment. The Iraqi military PULLED OUT, without even a fight. Who does that mean ISIS is with? Even the Iraqi governor of Nineveh where Mosul is located is saying ISIS collaborated with Assad before moving In. And now, Maaliki is conveniently declaring a "state of emergency" and will arm civilians (future shabbiha anyone?) to take over the land back. Since when is a government that has tanks and war planes dependent on civilians with little rifles?? Just think about that without taking sides and thinking Assad and his allies are saints. Maaliki realized how successful Assad was at fooling people with his artificial takfiri scare, and wants a piece of the action to further consolidate his dictatorial powers.
11 June 2014, 16:17
52
in ur religion, is it ok to rape women, torture people, barrel bomb civilians, starve kids, use scuds and sarin against ur population ?
11 June 2014, 16:56
20
roar's logic : " I assure you all on the day of Judgement, you will be just as guilty as the people doing the killing."
"I am not God to judge anyone in the next life."
two opposite posts in 10 min! that is one hell of a twisted mind LOL
11 June 2014, 17:43
20
boar, answer my question, i'll answer urs.
U speak about christian values and judgement day. So is it ok in ur religion to rape women, torture people, barrel bomb civilians, starve kids, use scuds and sarin against ur population ?
11 June 2014, 16:39
10
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=34008
http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2009681034_apmlsyriairaq.html
\http://www.france24.com/en/20090901-maliki-blames-syria-attacks-assad-denies-claim-/
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=34008
http://www.juancole.com/2009/09/iraqi-party-demonstrates-against-syria.html
11 June 2014, 16:56
20
god has spoken.... how smart those hezbi lovers! they are experts on everything , know everything even what God thinks! LOL
11 June 2014, 17:21
20
sure roar, if it makes you feel happy then i support whoever fits your idiotic propaganda ok?
but supporting hezbollah does not make you a supporter of killers or murderers ma heyk? LOL
may those who never sinned cast the first stone lol....
11 June 2014, 17:02
30
how come? you keep repeating assad won so what are they still doing in Lebanon? LOL
11 June 2014, 17:22
30
you say it! M8ers keep repeating that assad is winning and has retaken his country! oh! propaganda again? LOL
11 June 2014, 17:45
30
haboub, explain us why then they dont come back when their region is 'liberated' by assad and shia lebanese, iraqis, afgans ?
12 June 2014, 01:55
10
ok, so some day it's divine victory, some day it isnt.
Homs is fully liberated, sunnis were not allowed back, that's sect cleansing in order to form alawitestan...
11 June 2014, 18:06
13
When I look at this picture!!! I say: Assad, forgive us.. may u never leave us.. may you be president for EVER!!! I and over 70 pct of all Syrians!!
11 June 2014, 18:18
54
Of course of course! Its Bashar HA and Iran all part of our Shia "Takiya" To TAKE OVER THE WORLD!! Muahahahahaha! The plan is nearly complete the last obstacles are the REAL resistance your Nusra/FSA?Qadea backed by the pillars of Freedom and Democracy Wahhabi Arabia.
Have a nice day Dum Dum :)
11 June 2014, 18:58
22
I find it strange that everything isil does gives bashar more and more fuel to his propaganda fire, then again he freed the isil leaders from his jails so it's not strange at all.
11 June 2014, 20:23
11
I hope iraq and all the traitors who collaborated with the americans get burned and suffer the same fate of saddam and if worse I dont mind, diseased dogs shouldn't be alive, burn it down
12 June 2014, 00:17
00
It is their dictatorial ways and their fascistic tendencies that brought all those Takfiris into Syria. It is both Saddam's murderous dictatorship and Maliki's sectarian kleptocracy that brought Iraq to the state it is today.
Yes the US and Israel were plotting, of course they would, they are doing their interests like any nation. But it is our undemocratic Arab rulers that alienate their populations that allow for foreign interference.
12 June 2014, 00:17
00
Interesting Report: "The Obama Administration has been pursuing a policy of covert support for the Muslim Brotherhood and other insurgent movements in the Middle East since 2010." http://mebriefing.com/?p=789
Fact: Pre-2011: Hezbollah and Assad regime were heros. Israel was the villain.
Fact: Post-2011: Hezbollah and Assad regime are the villain. Israel, What is that?
Hezbollah and the Assad regime accuse "the zionist and the West" of plotting against them. They are probably correct but that does not give them the right to kill 160,000 Syrians and destroy Syria.
12 June 2014, 00:24
00
For the foreseeable future, chaos will rain. Tens of thousands will die. The murderous instincts of takfiris, baathists and khomeinists will clash in Syria and Iraq (hopefully not in Lebanon) for years to come.
This clash will have the same effect as an atomic bomb on the innocents of those 2 great countries. And it will be self inflicted.
Reconstruction might take years but reconstruction of the culture of hate will take tens of years. So sad.
12 June 2014, 02:55
00
It's amazing how quick you are to give ISIS so much credit. Please just think objectively for a moment. The Iraqi military PULLED OUT, without even a fight. Who does that mean ISIS is with? Even the Iraqi governor of Nineveh where Mosul is located is saying ISIS collaborated with Assad before moving In. And now, Maaliki is conveniently declaring a "state of emergency" and will arm civilians (future shabbiha anyone?) to take over the land back. Since when is a government that has tanks and war planes dependent on civilians with little rifles?? Just think about that without taking sides and thinking Assad and his allies are saints. Maaliki realized how successful Assad was at fooling people with his artificial takfiri scare, and wants a piece of the action to further consolidate his dictatorial powers.
12 June 2014, 02:55
00
It's amazing how quick you are to give ISIS so much credit. Please just think objectively for a moment. The Iraqi military PULLED OUT, without even a fight. Who does that mean ISIS is with? Even the Iraqi governor of Nineveh where Mosul is located is saying ISIS collaborated with Assad before moving In. And now, Maaliki is conveniently declaring a "state of emergency" and will arm civilians (future shabbiha anyone?) to take over the land back. Since when is a government that has tanks and war planes dependent on civilians with little rifles?? Just think about that without taking sides and thinking Assad and his allies are saints. Maaliki realized how successful Assad was at fooling people with his artificial takfiri scare, and wants a piece of the action to further consolidate his dictatorial powers.
12 June 2014, 05:04
00
Unfortunate to see FSA-Al Qaeda jihadist terrorism spreading to Iraq.
12 June 2014, 08:58
00
dats the saudi fruit it became a devastating monster eating everything watch out isn't iraq at saudi's border?
