Special to WorldTribune.com

BAGHDAD — Al Qaida, in a stunning defeat for the U.S.-trained military, has captured a leading city in Iraq.

On June 10, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant raided and captured Iraq’s second largest city.

The Baghdad government acknowledged that nearly 1,000 ISIL fighters, armed with surface-to-air as well as anti-tank missiles, stormed the northern city of Mosul, located in the Nineveh province, and drove out army and security forces.

“All of Nineveh province fell into the hands of the militants,” Iraqi parliament speaker Osama Nujaifi said. “What happened is a disaster by any standard.”

Officials said the ISIL capture of Mosul, population two million, marked a debacle for security forces under the control of Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki. They said the Iraq Army and security forces, trained and equipped by the United States, fled Mosul without a fight.

By the evening, ISIL, which also freed 1,200 prisoners, was said to have pushed south toward the neighboring province of Saleh Eddin. Witnesses did not report any resistance by either the army or security forces, some of whom were seen shedding their uniforms. Security and army commanders around Mosul have not been seen since late June 9.

“Al Maliki’s tyrannical strength is no match for pious believers,” ISIL
said in an online statement.

Al Maliki, who asked parliament to declare a state of emergency,
appeared on television and appealed to civilians to stop ISIL. The prime
minister, already facing a Sunni revolt in Iraq’s largest
province, Anbar, pledged to supply weapons and vehicles to volunteers,
expected to include Iranian-financed Shi’ite militias.

“We have created a special crisis cell to follow up on the process of
volunteering, equipping and arming,” Al Maliki said.

Officials said ISIL captured military bases around Mosul. They said Al
Qaida fighters took control of fixed- and rotary-wing helicopters supplied
by Russia and the United States.

The ISIL offensive came amid a massive U.S. training and arming program
for the Iraqi military and security forces. In 2014, the administration of
President Barack Obama oversaw the export of the F-16 multi-role fighter and
the AH-64 attack helicopter to Baghdad.

“The United States will provide all appropriate assistance to the
government of Iraq,” the State Department said. “ISIL is not only a threat
to the stability of Iraq, but a threat to the entire region.”

  Al Qaida’s ISIL captures Mosul and ‘all of Ninevah province, fall of Mosul, in major defeat for Iraq, Iraq’s second-largest city, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Nouri Al Maliki