[Kunoichi]

ISIS overrun parts of Iraqi city of Samarra 5/6/2014

The offensive is part of an escalating war between Iraq's Shi'ite-led government and militants who have been regaining ground and momentum over the past year, particularly in the west of the country bordering Syria.

The Sunni militants blew up a police station around 25 km south of Samarra overnight, security sources said, killing several policemen before advancing on the city in pick-up trucks, raiding checkpoints on the way.

After entering the city from both east and west, they seized control of the municipality building and university, raising the black flag of the Sunni militant 'Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) over both buildings, police said.

They also occupied Samarra's two largest mosques and announced the "liberation" of the city via loudspeaker, urging residents to join their jihad (holy war) against the government.

In January, the Sunni Islamist insurgents overran two cities in the western province of Anbar, which borders the region of Salahuddin where Samarra is located.

"The security situation is so fragile now in Salahuddin and we don't rule out that the insurgents will expand further," said provincial council member Sabhan Mulla Chiad. "I am not optimistic at all."

http://www.trust.org/item/20140605133628-6gv77