Fall of Mosul

The Fall of Mosul in June 2014, refers to blitz takeover of the city during the June 2014 offensive. After advancing on the city for almost a week from June 4; on the night of 9–10 June 2014, militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant took control of most of the Iraqi city of Mosul. An estimated 1,300 armed militants seized the Nineveh Province government offices, army facilities, and Mosul International Airport. Approximately 500,000 residents of Mosul were believed to have fled the city. Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki called for a national state of emergency following the attack. Mosul was reported to be entirely in insurgent hands as of 10 June. On the following day the city of Tikrit also fell to insurgents, who burned government buildings and freed hundreds of inmates from the local prison.

Background
Since December 2013, clashes involving tribal militias, Iraqi security forces, and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have broken out throughout western Iraq. In early January 2014, ISIL militants successfully took control of Fallujah and Ramadi, bringing much of Anbar Province under their control. Afterwards, the Iraqi Army began conducting an offensive against the Anbar region, the stronghold of the ISIL, with the stated goal of bringing the region under government control. Samarra was recaptured by Iraqi forces on 5 June 2014, while heavy shelling on Fallujah weakened the ISIL forces there. However, the advances ISIL has made in neighboring Syria, from where they source weapons, has substantially strengthened their position.

In early June, insurgents began advancing into central and northern parts of Iraq following the Iraqi Army's campaign in the Anbar region. while advancing ISIL military chief Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi was killed on June 5, by Iraqi Security Forces near Mosul. ISIL named the military operation that resulted in their seizure of Mosul on June 9 'Bilawi Vengeance, a reference to his alias. At that point they were still in control of most of Fallujah and Garmah, as well as parts of Haditha, Jurf Al Sakhar, Anah, Qa'im, Abu Ghraib, and several smaller settlements in the Anbar Province.

Mosul attack
On the night of 9 June 2014, ISIL and Sunni militants attacked Mosul, with heavy fighting overnight. Iraqi Army soldiers fled the city while it was under attack, with the militants controlling much of Mosul by midday on 10 June. The militants seized numerous facilities, including Mosul International Airport, which had served as a hub for the U.S. military in the region. It was thought all aircraft had been captured. The militants also claimed to have released at least 2,400 prisoners, after seizing police stations and prisons across the city.

Aftermath
On June 11, ISIL insurgents advanced into the oil refinery town of Baiji, seizing the main court house and police station and setting them on fire. The militants, who were travelling in a group of around 60 vehicles, also took control of the Baiji prison and freed all the inmates within. Local residents told members of the media that ISIL sent a group of local tribal chiefs ahead of them to convince the 250 guards at the oil plant to withdraw, while soldiers and police had been warned to leave as well. Al Jazeera claims that later in the day militants retreated from Baiji after reinforcements from the Iraqi Army's Fourth Armored Division arrived in the city.

Later during the day ISIL members seized the Turkish consulate in Mosul and kidnapped 49 Turkish employees including the Consul General, three children and several members of the Turkish Special Forces. Reports suggested the abducted were taken to a nearby militant base and were unharmed. An unnamed Turkish official confirmed the government was in contact with the insurgents, while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held an emergency meeting with members of the National Intelligence Agency (MIT) and Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay to discuss the situation. The daring assault came a day after 28 Turkish truck drivers were abducted by militants while delivering fuel to a power plant in Mosul.

Continuing their offensive, on the evening of June 11, insurgents took full control of the city of Tikrit, the hometown of former president Saddam Hussein and the second provincial capital to fall in two days. Local officials reported that checkpoints had been set up around the city, while at least 300 inmates had been freed from the city's prisons, many of them serving sentences under terrorism charges.

In the Kirkuk province, ISIL forces executed 15 security forces members.