Iraq Says It's Halted Militant Group's Advance On Baghdad

"In Iraq, Maj Gen Qassim al-Moussawi, a spokesman for the military's commander-in-chief, promised to recapture all rebel-held areas, including Mosul, the nation's second city, which was overrun last Monday. The fall of the city prompted the flight of 500,000 refugees and fears that Iraq faced a return to the violence that followed the US-led invasion more than a decade ago."'Our security forces have regained the initiative,' said Maj Gen al-Moussawi, adding that the Iraqi army had won 'remarkable victories with the help of volunteers'. 'We will not stop at liberating Mosul from ISIS terrorists, but all other parts,' he continued."

"ISIS has published dozens of photos documenting its killings. In one a masked jihadi aims his Kalashnikov at men lined up face down. The flag of the Islamic State flies in the background. Another shows a man, his mouth bound, blood streaming from his head. An Iraqi military spokesman says the ISIS photos are real."The captions are gloating. One reads: transferring hundreds of Safavid soldiers to their death. Safavid is a derogatory reference to Shiites, equating them with Persian invaders. ISIS says Shiites will pay for the repression of Nouri al-Maliki's government. Sunni soldiers are being pardoned."Meanwhile, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is mobilizing supporters, including his feared civil-war era militia. Prime Minister al-Maliki has called for militias to support the foundering security forces."