A lightning offensive by Sunni militants may have sounded the death knell of a centralised Iraq, say analysts, who suggest the country, at best, may survive as a federal state.
Iran offered neighbouring Iraq support against "terrorism" Wednesday, as Baghdad battled a jihadist offensive that has seized the country's second city and is moving towards the capital.
Militants seized the Iraqi city of Tikrit Wednesday but their assault on Samarra was repulsed as a lightning jihadist offensive launched in second city Mosul swept closer to Baghdad.
AFP - A local leader of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was killed in clashes with other rebels in the Syrian province of Idlib on Sunday, a monitoring group said.
