Islamist insurgents in Iraq have taken the city of Tikrit, as they continue their advance after capturing Mosul, Radio New Zealand reports.
Map of Iraq locating the areas controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant jihadists pic.twitter.com/LgtKfI55rw
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) June 11, 2014
Tikrit, the home town of former leader Saddam Hussein, lies just 150km north of the capital Baghdad.
On Monday, the Islamist fighters seized the northern city of Mosul, as police and soldiers abandoned their posts.
ISIS have seized control of Mosul in northern Iraq. Who are they and what do they want? http://t.co/X4wW3pA5S7 pic.twitter.com/sOWb7KYzZH
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) June 10, 2014
Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki vowed to fight back against the jihadists and punish those in the security forces who fled, offering little or no resistance.
The insurgents are from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), an offshoot of al-Qaeda, the BBC reports.
Separately, at least 21 people were killed and 45 hurt by a suicide bomber at a Shia meeting in Baghdad, police said.
As many as 500,000 people fled Mosul after the militants attacked the city. The head of the Turkish mission in Mosul and almost 50 consulate staff are being held by the militants, Turkish officials say.
Iraq: People from the fallen town of Mosul pour into the Kurdistan region pic.twitter.com/rdgr9ZmMWg
— UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) June 11, 2014
Turkey's foreign minister warned there would be "harsh retaliation" if any of its citizens were harmed.
Iraq crisis: "One of the largest and swiftest mass movements of people in recent memory" http://t.co/xToluDKg0E pic.twitter.com/jZbbDAbwVI
— Barney Henderson (@barneyhenderson) June 11, 2014
