MOSUL, IRAQ – Reports have surfaced that well-trained militants have stormed the second-largest city in Iraq and taken control.
According to a report from Reuters, an Iraqi police officer told a reporter that “We can’t beat them. We can’t. They are well-trained in street fighting, and we’re not. We need a whole army to drive them out of Mosul.”
It was reported that Iraqi security forces fled as the insurgents advanced through the city of 1.6 million. Thousands of civilians have fled the violence.
The United States State Department said Tuesday that it is deeply concerned about the events that have transpired in Mosul over the last 48 hours, where elements of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISIL) have taken over significant parts of the city. The situation remains extremely serious. Senior U.S. officials in both Washington and Baghdad are tracking events closely in coordination with the Government of Iraq, as well as Iraqi leaders from across the political spectrum including the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and support a strong, coordinated response to push back against the aggression.
The United States plans to provide all appropriate assistance to the Government of Iraq under the Strategic Framework Agreement to help ensure that these efforts succeed. US troops left the country in December of 2011.
ISIL continues to gain strength from the situation in Syria, from which it transfers recruits, sophisticated munitions, and resources to the fight in Iraq. The US says the ISIL is not only a threat to the stability of Iraq, but a threat to the entire region. This growing threat exemplifies the need for Iraqis from all communities to work together to confront this common enemy and isolate these militant groups from the broader population.
Across Iraq in recent days, terrorist attacks in restive Anbar, Baghdad, Diyala, Ninewa, and Salah al-Din provinces that have killed and wounded scores of civilians.
Hundreds of Iraqi security force personnel have been killed and injured in the fight against the ISIL this year. The United Nations says more than 8,800 people have died in Iraq this year.
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