Islamist Insurgents Seize Saddam's Hometown and Close In on Baghdad

BAGHDAD — Al-Qaida-inspired militants effectively seized control of Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit on Wednesday, expanding their offensive closer to the Iraqi capital.

Iraqi soldiers and security forces abandoned their posts following clashes with the insurgents.

Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant took control a day earlier of much of Mosul, the country's second-largest city, in a major blow to the authority of the country's Shiite government and a sign of Iraq's reversals since U.S. forces withdrew in late 2011.

The Sunni militants also gained entry to the Turkish consulate in Mosul and held captive 48 people, including diplomats, police, consulate employees and three children, according to an official in the office of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Read more...