Iraqi forces abandon tanks in Kirkuk
- 10 years ago
In Kirkuk, tanks and military gear reportedly abandoned by Iraqi soldiers as Islamist militants moved into the area.
Reuters cannot independently verify the content of this video which was uploaded to a social media website. The brigade's headquarters have been ransacked and the base has the look of a ghost town.
It's in stark contrast to the scene outside a Kerbala recruiting office --- where more than a thousand government loyalists turned out to say they're ready to fight.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNNAMED RECRUIT, SAYING:
"We have volunteered to serve our country and defeat the criminal ISIL fighters who harbor malice towards our country. We will go to Mosul, God willing, to fight and defeat them."
Militants from the group, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, who made serious gains overnight in Diyala province --- are believed to be moving toward Baghdad.
On Friday, the typically jammed streets of the nation's capital city were almost empty as
Reuters cannot independently verify the content of this video which was uploaded to a social media website. The brigade's headquarters have been ransacked and the base has the look of a ghost town.
It's in stark contrast to the scene outside a Kerbala recruiting office --- where more than a thousand government loyalists turned out to say they're ready to fight.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNNAMED RECRUIT, SAYING:
"We have volunteered to serve our country and defeat the criminal ISIL fighters who harbor malice towards our country. We will go to Mosul, God willing, to fight and defeat them."
Militants from the group, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, who made serious gains overnight in Diyala province --- are believed to be moving toward Baghdad.
On Friday, the typically jammed streets of the nation's capital city were almost empty as