Iraq`s Prime Minister calls for state of emergency

Baghdad: Iraq`s prime minister has asked parliament to declare a state of emergency over a militant attack in Mosul. Nouri al-Maliki made the call in a televised news conference today. Militants effectively seized of Iraq`s second-largest city of Mosul today.

Iraqi security forces abandoned their posts and militants overran the provincial government headquarters and other key buildings, dealing a serious blow to Baghdad`s attempts to tame a widening insurgency in the country. The gunmen torched several of the city`s police stations, freeing detainees held in lockups. The fighters are believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an al-Qaida splinter group that is behind the bulk of the bloody attacks in Iraq and is among the most ruthless rebel forces in Syria.