VOA慢速英语:武装分子在伊拉克摩苏尔后抓住提克里特

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Iraqi officials said Islamic militants pushed southwardfrom the city of Mosul on Wednesday and have taken control of the city ofTikrit. The militants have also reportedly seized Iraq’s biggest oil refinery, in the town of Beiji.

Tikrit was the home of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. It is less than200 kilometers from the capital Baghdad. Witnesses said the militants from the group “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant” also seized police stations.They said the governor of the city is missing.

In Beiji, the militants set fire to the police station and courthouse. They alsoforced 250 guards from the refinery. Iraqi state television said on Wednesdaythat the Iraqi army expelled the militants from the refinery hours after it wasseized.

The International Organization for Migration said 500,000 people have fled theirhomes in Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq. There are also reports thathundreds of Iraqi soldiers removed their military clothing and fled toneighboring Kurdistan.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki urged residents of Mosul to retake the city. In a speech on Wednesday he strongly criticized members of the Iraqi militarywho fled Mosul. He said they were part of a plot against the government.

Damaged vehicles belonging to Iraqi security forces are seen during clashes between Iraqi security forces and al-Qaida-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in Mosul, Iraq, June 10, 2014.

The seizing of Mosul by the militants is just the latest problem for the Iraqigovernment. Earlier this year, the militants took control of the city of Fallujah. After months of fighting, the Iraqi government has not been able to retake thecity.

To the west of Mosul, the militants control part of eastern Syria along the Iraqiborder. The militants are trying to establish an Islamic state in the area byjoining eastern Syria and parts of Iraq.

Iraq is dealing with the worst violence since 2008. The United Nationsreported that 4,500 people were killed this year. More than 900 have beenkilled in the past month alone.

I’m Christopher Cruise.