Special to WorldTribune.com

BAGHDAD — Al Qaida-linked jihadists, despite threats by Iran and the United States, have continued their advance toward the Iraqi capital.

Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has moved closer to Baghdad amid air and ground operations by the Iraqi military.

At the same time, Iraqi sources said the ISIL force seized two main battle tanks and six U.S.-origin Humvee combat vehicles in Saqlawiya, near the Anbar city of Falluja. According to other reports, additional advanced U.S. military platforms have been captured. The equipment is being transferred to ISIL forces in Syria, according to a report by Bill Gertz.

On June 16, ISIL, advancing along several fronts, was said to have reached positions within 50 kilometers of the capital. The sources said ISIL captured the town of Saqlawiya west of Baghdad.

“A military force killed 15 terrorists in the area of Sheik Amer, which contains orchards and farmland, north of Baghdad,” Iraqi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Saad Maan said.

In a briefing on June 16, Maan reported ISIL battles in such areas as Latifiya as well as the outskirts of the Anbar province. The spokesman denied reports that ISIL fired mortar shells on Baghdad International Airport.

Heavy fighting between ISIL and the Iraq Army, backed by Iranian-trained Shi’ite fighters, was also reported in Samara, 125 kilometers north of Baghdad. The army reported heavy ISIL losses as well as the arrest of a suspected Al Qaida cell.

It was not clear how many Iraq Army units were left to battle ISIL.
Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki has acknowledged widespread defections,
including those by senior commanders.

“We will work on purging Iraq of the traitors, politicians and those
military men who were carrying out their orders,” Al Maliki said.

Western embassies in Baghdad have been sending staffers out of Iraq.
On June 16, the United Nations reported an airlift of personnel from Baghdad
to the Jordanian capital of Amman.

So far, ISIL has not encountered a major Iraqi military counter-attack.
But Iran and the United States said they were coordinating measures to
protect the Shi’ite government of Al Maliki. On June 16, the White House
told Congress that 275 military personnel were sent to Baghdad to arrange
for the evacuation of an unspecified number of embassy staffers.

“I wouldn’t rule out anything that would be constructive,” U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry, referring to Iran, said.

  Brig. Gen. Saad Maan, capture U.S. platforms, ISIL forces continue march toward Baghdad, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Latifiya, Nouri Al Maliki, seizes U.S.-origin equipment in march toward Baghdad