State of emergency: ISIL militants overrun Iraq city of 1.8mn, free 2,500 prisoners

State of emergency: ISIL militants overrun Iraq city of 1.8mn, free 2,500 prisoners

Heavily-armed, Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants have seized the Iraqi city of Mosul, driving back government forces. Officials say the Iraqi Army’€™s soldiers are demoralized and are no match for the attacking militant forces. “The city of Mosul is outside the control of the state and at the mercy of the militants,” an Interior Ministry official told AFP on Monday.