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Tuesday, June 24, 2014

ON THE WARPATH: A TIMELINE OF EVENTS SINCE ISIS LAUNCHED ITS LIGHTNING OFFENSIVE TWO WEEKS AGO

 

ON THE WARPATH: A TIMELINE OF EVENTS SINCE ISIS LAUNCHED ITS LIGHTNING OFFENSIVE TWO WEEKS AGO

 June 10: Hundreds of jihadists, led by fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), seize Iraq's second biggest city Mosul and swathes of Nineveh province. They also overrun parts of the nearby Kirkuk and Salaheddin provinces.
- Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki says civilians will get weapons to fight the militants.
June 11: The insurgents seize Tikrit, Salaheddin's provincial capital, but security forces repel an assault on Samarra.
- ISIS storms the Turkish consulate in Mosul, kidnaps the head of the mission and 48 others, after earlier seizing 31 Turkish truck drivers.
June 12: Kurdish forces take over Kirkuk to protect the oil hub from jihadists. Iraqi Kurds want to make Kirkuk part of their autonomous region.
- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani promises Maliki Iran's full support.
June 13: Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urges Iraqis to take up arms against the militants.
- UN human rights chief Navi Pillay cites reports of extrajudicial killings and summary executions.
June 14: Shiite Iran mulls working with the United States, its long-time foe, if Washington takes the lead in helping to repel the militants.
- The US says the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is steaming into the Gulf.
- Security forces retake Ishaqi, north of Baghdad, say they found the burned bodies of 12 policemen.
June 15: An Iraqi air strike targets Kurdish forces in eastern Iraq, killing six fighters. Unclear if an accident or not.
- Kurdish forces control the Rabia border crossing with Syria, a senior official says.
June 16: Militants and security forces battle for Tal Afar, a strategic Shi'ite town in north Iraq.
- US President Barack Obama says 275 troops are going to help protect the embassy in Baghdad, their first deployment since US forces withdrew from Iraq.
June 17: Militants attack the central city of Baquba, the bodies of 18 soldiers and police are found near Samarra.
- Maliki fires top security commanders.
June 18: Rouhani says Iran would do whatever it takes to protect Shiite Muslim holy sites in Iraq.
- Militants attack the country's biggest oil refinery at Baiji,s parking clashes that left dozens dead. Iraqi officials say the Islamist assault was eventually repelled.
June 19: The battle for Baiji oil refinery is seen from space in NASA satellite image as fierce fighting continues
- Obama announces he is sending up to 300 military advisers to Iraq to train forces
June 20: The UN Secretary General has warned that possible airstrikes against ISIS fighters in Iraq could be ineffective and backfire as jihadist militants trap Iraqi troops inside the Baiji oil refinery
June 21: Insurgents take control of al-Qaim, a key strategic point on the eastern frontier with Syria
- Thousands of armed Shi'ite militiamen parade through Baghdad in a display of strength
June 22: Four more key Iraqi towns - Qaim, Rawah, Anah and Rutba - fall to ISIS


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