Iraqis Told: 'Take Up Arms And Defend Country'

Iraq has implemented an emergency plan to defend Baghdad as a representative for its most senior Shi'ite cleric urged people to take up arms and defend their country.

Sheikh Abdulmehdi al Karbalai, a representative for Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, said: "People who are capable of carrying arms and fighting the terrorists in defence of their country ... should volunteer to join the security forces to achieve this sacred goal."

Sunni insurgents are edging closer to the country's capital after seizing large swathes of territory as they head south on the road from Mosul to Baghdad.

Along the way the fighters have been parading seized military equipment and flying the black and white flag of the Islamic caliphate, or state, they hope to create.

General Lord Richard Dannatt, former chief of the general staff, told Sky News the "bitter" conflict is "almost a fight for the soul of Islam itself".

Amid fears the nation could degenerate into civil war, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki should do more to put aside sectarian differences.

Volunteers who have joined the Iraqi Army to fight ISIS board an army truck

Security forces are gathering at a base just 20 miles outside Baghdad, ready to protect the city from Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters who have vowed to march on the city.

Brigadier General Saad Maan told the AFP news agency: "The plan consists of intensifying the deployment of forces, and increasing intelligence efforts and the use of technology such as (observation) balloons and cameras and other equipment."

Insurgents have taken control of the northern cities Mosul and Tikrit, having previously seized Fallujah and parts of Ramadi.

A comparison of the Iraqi army and ISIS

The militants have also moved into the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla in the eastern province of Diyala, after security forces abandoned their positions.

A security source and local official told Reuters that insurgents clashed with Shi'ite militia at two locations in the province.

The Iraqi army fired artillery at Saadiyah and Jalawla from Muqdadiya, 50 miles from the Baghdad city limits, sending dozens of families fleeing towards the Iranian border, security sources said.

Some of the areas affected by the fighting in Iraq

The Iraqi air force also launched airstrikes on militant fighters' positions around Mosul and Tikrit.

In Mosul, ISIS fighters staged a parade of American Humvee patrol vehicles seized from the Iraqi army.

Witnesses say the fighters are preparing a third assault on Samarra, 70 miles north of Baghdad, following two failed attempts to take the city.

An Iraqi security officer stands guard as Iraqi civilians wait to volunteer

As the chaos spreads, Iraqi Kurdish forces have taken control of Kirkuk, an oil hub close to their autonomous enclave, after government troops abandoned their posts.

ISIS has published Sharia rules for the territory it has gained in northern Iraq, including a ban on drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and an edict on women to wear all-covering, shapeless clothing.

Militants are reported to have executed soldiers and policemen after seizing some towns.

A woman cradles her baby at a temporary camp in Nineveh province

Sky's Middle East Correspondent Sherine Tadros, in Irbil, northern Iraq, said: "The army right now is extremely demoralised, it feels like it's lacking in leadership and it's splintering under this pressure.

"Meanwhile, the militants certainly seem like they have the upper hand and all the momentum."

UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said the number of people killed in Mosul may run into the hundreds.

He said his office had reports the killings included the execution of 18 civilians working for the police.

Four women killed themselves after being raped, while 16 Georgians have been kidnapped, Mr Colville added.

"We've also had reports suggesting that the government forces have also committed excesses, in particular the shelling of civilian areas on 6 and 8 June," he said.

"There are claims that up to 30 civilians may have been killed."

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