Iraq crisis: Militants attack Tikrit after taking Mosul

PM Nouri Maliki blamed the fall of Mosul on a conspiracy

Islamist insurgents have attacked the Iraqi city of Tikrit after the second city, Mosul, was earlier overrun.

Officials say militants are now in control of some parts of Tikrit - Saddam Hussein's hometown which lies just 150km (95 miles) north of Baghdad.

Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki has vowed to fight back against the jihadists and punish those in the security forces who have deserted.

The insurgents who attacked Mosul are from the ISIS group.

It is not confirmed who is attacking Tikrit but one report said there was also fighting further south in Samarra.

ISIS - the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which is also known as ISIL - is an offshoot of al-Qaeda.

It controls considerable territory in eastern Syria and western and central Iraq, in a campaign to set up a militant enclave straddling the border.

'Do not give in'

As many as 500,000 people fled Mosul after the militants attacked the city. The head of the Turkish mission in Mosul and almost 50 consulate officials are being held by the militants, Turkish officials say.

There is heavy fighting reported in Tikrit

One report said Tikrit had fallen to militants but this has not been officially confirmed

Tikrit is just 150km (95 miles) north of Baghdad

The insurgents moved quickly south, entering the town of Baiji late on Tuesday.

Heavy clashes are now reported in Tikrit, with dozens of insurgents said to be fighting security forces near the headquarters of the Salaheddin provincial government in the city centre.

One eyewitness told the BBC that gunmen had entered the city from four different directions and a police station had been set on fire.

ISIS in Iraq

• The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has 3,000 to 5,000 fighters, and grew out of an al-Qaeda-linked organisation in Iraq
• ISIS has exploited the standoff between the Iraqi government and the minority Sunni Arab community, which complains that Shia PM Nouri Maliki is monopolising power
• It has already taken over Ramadi and Falluja, but taking over Mosul is a far greater feat than anything the movement has achieved so far, and will send shockwaves throughout the region
• The organisation is led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi - an obscure figure regarded as a battlefield commander and tactician. He was once the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, one of the groups that later became ISIS.

One police colonel told Agence France-Presse that Tikrit had fallen, but this has not been officially confirmed.

Earlier Mr Maliki vowed to fight back against the militants. He has asked parliament to declare a state of emergency.

In a live TV address, he said a "conspiracy" had taken place in Mosul and surrounding Ninevah province.

A security vehicle burns in Mosul after many army personnel fled the city

Mr Maliki said he did not want to apportion blame for who had ordered the security personnel "to retreat and cause chaos".

He added: "Those who deserted and did not carry out their jobs properly should be punished but we will honour those who are resisting."

Mr Maliki urged units still fighting to carry on and told the people of Ninevah: "Do not give in. We are with you, the state is with you, the army is with you. Even if the battle is a long one, we will not let you down."

Mr Maliki said "terrorists" had "come to Iraq to implement what they have been doing in Syria".

Civilians crossed the Tigris river to escape the fighting in Mosul, as the BBC's Paul Adams reports

He pledged to "reorganise the armed forces to cleanse Ninevah of the terrorists and those who helped them".

Residents of Mosul said jihadist flags were flying from buildings and that the militants had announced over loudspeakers they had "come to liberate" the city. Many police stations were reported to have been set on fire and hundreds of detainees set free.

ISIS has been informally controlling much of Nineveh province for months, and in the past week has attacked other areas of western and northern Iraq, killing scores of people.

The Iraqi government is struggling with a surge in sectarian violence that killed almost 800 people, including 603 civilians, in May alone, according to the UN. Last year, more than 8,860 people died.