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June 11, 2014

500,000 Flee After Al-Qaeda Militants Seize Mosul 
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An estimated 500,000 people have fled Iraq's second-largest city
following its capture by al-Qaeda militants. The Islamic State of Iraq
and the Levant — ISIL — seized Mosul on Tuesday with a
sweeping attack on the city's airport, TV stations, government buildings
and prisons, setting over 2,000 inmates free. The capture of Mosul
expands ISIL's western stronghold after taking Fallujah and parts of
Ramadi earlier this year. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has
declared a national state of emergency. The Iraqi government has
struggled to contain spiraling internal violence since the departure of
U.S. troops in 2011. The conflict between Sunni militants the Shiite-led
government is an outgrowth of the 2003 invasion, which helped spark a
civil war.

 

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