Islamic Militants Seize Control of Mosul, Second Largest Iraqi City

Thousands of Iraqis flee their homes as Mosul falls under ISIS control today. Photo source: Twitter user @mohsinani

Thousands of Iraqis flee their homes as Mosul falls under ISIS control today. Photo source: Twitter user @mohsinani

Iraq's second largest city Mosul fell into the hands of Islamist militants today (June 10). Reports say the militants are from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a splinter group of the notorious Al Qaeda, which is also fighting in Syria.

Thousands of Iraqis have fled the homes following the fighting over the city. On Twitter, one Iraqi blogger Maryam Al Dabbagh, who is in the UAE, charts her family's struggle during the ordeal.

Her tweets from June 7 read:

Dabbagh notes acts of kindness:

As the fighting continues over the city, Dabbagh's tweets turns to her family, still in Iraq:

She draws parallels to the ongoing fighting in neighbouring Syria:

And she looks back at recent history to compare the terror that has gripped her hometown:

On June 9, her tweets take another turn. She reports:

Soon, her family takes the decision to join the thousands of people fleeing the city:

And then…

Her tweets from today, show her family stranded near the Kurdish borders. She explains:

Meanwhile, Dabbagh tries to reason with conflicting reports:

Watching television, Zaid Benjamin is surprised to see Iraq TV is playing a song while it's second largest city was falling into militants control:

Journalist Hassan Hassan comments:

Meanwhile, the Arab world is watching as the chaos unfolds.

From Bahrain, Huda Al Mahmood wonders [ar]:

A new catastrophe befalls the Arab world. I don't imagine the control of Mosul by Al Qaeda will serve anyone. Where are all the counter-terrorism attempts?

Palestinian Maath Musleh asks:

The ISIS releases 2725 prisoners from a Mosul prison. How many of them will join ISIS?

And Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi states the obvious:

The ISIS takes control over Mosul. I expect this news to have repercussions outside Iraq

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