CAIRO, June 10. /ITAR-TASS/. Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has places the country’s army and security services in full combat readiness and urged the parliament to introduce emergency rule.
The prime minister announced his decisions at an extraordinary news conference in Baghdad summoned in view of the seizure of Nineveh Province with the administrative center in Mosul by the militants from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
At present, the radicals continue attacking and gaining control over new areas, posing a threat to the province of Salah al-Din (the administrative center is the city of Tikrit).
{article_photo:735583:'Militants seize province in north of country — Iraq’s parliament speaker':'right':'50'}Nineveh seized by militants
The militants have seized the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh with its administrative center in Mosul, the Iraqi Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi stated on Tuesday.
According to him, the gunmen from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) after the seizure of Mosul moved towards the province of Salah al-Din (the administrative center is the city of Tikrit).
The government has not yet appealed to the parliament to impose a state of emergency in the country, he said.
Earlier, the militants from the ISIL linked to al-Qaeda had taken control of Mosul in northern Iraq.
The clashes between armed extremists and Iraqi security forces in Mosul began on Tuesday morning. According to Sky News Arabia, the fighting took place near the headquarters of the Armed Forces of Nineveh province and the regional administration.
{history:2244:'Read also':'right':'50'}20 people die in Baqubah bomb attack
Meanwhile, at least 20 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a series of explosions in Iraq on Tuesday. According to the country’s Interior Ministry, the terrorist attack took place in the city of Baqubah, 60 km away from Baghdad.
The ministry added that two self-made bombs were set off at the al-Sharif cemetery, in the middle of the crowd that gathered to pay tribute to a university professor that was killed on Monday.
None of the militant groups operating in Iraq has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. The police believe that Islamists linked to al-Qaeda may stand behind these explosions.
The country, where Sunnis and Shiites live, is deep in internecine quarrelling. According to the United Nations Organization, since the beginning of 2014, several thousand people have been killed in Iraq. Only in April, 750 civilians and servicemen have died. In 2013, the number of terrorist attacks victims amounted to 8,868 people, mostly from civilian population.