Militants seize key Iraqi city of Mosul

Militants seize key Iraqi city of Mosul
(Image credit: Muhannad Fala'ah/Getty Images)

Islamic militants from the al Qaeda offshoot Islamic State of Iraq and Syria have seized control of Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city and the effective capital of northern Iraq.

"When the battle got tough in the city of Mosul, the troops dropped their weapons and abandoned their posts, making it an easy prey for the terrorists," Osama Nujaifi, the country's speaker of parliament, said. Key government buildings and security bases are reportedly in the hands of insurgents. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has declared a state of emergency.

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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.