US Armed Drones Take To The Skies Over Iraq

US And Iranian Drones Flying Over Iraq

Updated: 5:16am UK, Saturday 28 June 2014

By Dominic Waghorn, US Correspondent, Washington

US officials have confirmed that armed drones are now flying in the skies above Baghdad. Previously, US drones operating there were thought to be unarmed.

All unmanned aerial missions will remain tasked with surveillance but the armed drones could be called on to protect the hundreds of US troops who've been sent to act as military advisers.

President Obama has for now ruled out offensive military action in Iraq, but this will give him the ability to respond quickly with force should US assets become threatened.

It also means that US and Iranian drones are almost certainly for the first time flying in the same theatre of war, on the same side. 

US press reports claim Iran is also operating drones from an airfield in Baghdad. 

American and Iranian objectives in Iran overlap. 

Both countries are determined to reverse the fortunes of ISIS - for different reasons. 

Iran is concerned about the threat to its ally, the Shiite-dominated government of Iraq, fellow Shia Iraqis, and Shia holy places. 

The US is concerned by the success of an Islamist movement so extreme it's been condemned by al Qaeda.

American officials have been at pains to rule out coordinating military activity in Iraq with Iran. 

But they have said they are willing to explore a dialogue to explore mutual interests in the country.

Iranian commanders are reported to be operating in Baghdad. Qassem al Suleimani, commander of the elite Iranian Quds Brigade, is said to be among them.  

He is thought to have helped organise Iranian support for Iraqi militia attacks on both US and British troops over the last decade, not least with the use of roadside bombs.

He is now thought to be advising the Iraqi military on defending Baghdad and taking on ISIS after its blitzkrieg advance through the west of the country. 

At the same time and in the same city, as many as 300 US military advisers are working with other elements of the Iraqi forces with the same purpose.

The US government has said it is concerned the Iranians' involvement could increase the risk of sectarian conflict in Iraq. 

Iran is interested in protecting Shia Iraqis in what is spiralling towards civil war.

For its part, Iran has voiced concerns America is trying to stage-manage events in Iraq with only its interests in mind and orchestrate the removal of the Shia prime minister Nouri al Maliki.

But both countries are prepared to overcome such friction in the interest of defeating a common enemy and maintaining influence in Iraq. 

The Iranians are reportedly making a bigger investment to that end, operating a round-the-clock air bridge into Baghdad funnelling tons of materiel into Iraq.

America may look on with alarm at the burgeoning Iranian presence in Iraq and what Teheran may expect in return. 

But for now the rise of ISIS remains a bigger worry and Washington has little choice but to work alongside its enemies to vanquish a bigger foe.

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Ukraine's EU Deal: 'Not A Good Day For Russia'

Beyond all the bickering over the EU presidency, a bit of history was being made at the summit in Brussels on Friday.

Three former states of the USSR - Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova - signed association agreements with the European Union, formally shifting their countries away from their Soviet past, towards a new, European future.

For Ukraine, this is the culmination of what so many fought for on the Maidan - the local name for the popular uprising in Kiev, which removed president Victor Yanukovych from power.

It was his refusal to sign this very same EU trade deal in November that brought the first of the protesters onto the streets, triggering a movement against a presidency many saw as corrupt and leading their country back to its old Kremlin masters.

The EU flag became one of the symbols of the protest - they flew it from the barricades and wrapped it around themselves - demanding what they saw as European human rights: justice, democracy, and the rule of law.

Petro Poroshenko (R) and EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy shake hands

For all of the sentiment expressed by British politicians of late, it's worth remembering what the European Union means to so many of those beyond its borders in the east of the continent.

I remember one man telling me he considered himself middle class - that he had a nice apartment, a nice car, plenty to lose.

But he wanted a future for his children and grandchildren that would be fairer - that would not be subject to the whim of local bureaucrats or the ability to grease the right palms.

He was realistic about the short-term pain that would follow, but he said it would be worth it.

He wanted a 'European' future for his children.

Of course the reality will not be utopian.

The security situation in the East is deteriorating, Kiev insists, fuelled by the Kremlin.

A ceasefire is supposedly in place in Ukraine

Despite the ceasefire supposedly in place, on Thursday night four Ukrainian servicemen were killed, five wounded, in fighting near Kramatorsk.

The United Nations' refugee agency says 110,000 people have fled across the border into Russia since the start of the year.

The national finances are in a parlous state: the currency has fallen 45% since January, the price of Russian gas is rocketing, and that's before Moscow has enacted the "grave consequences" its deputy foreign minister warned would follow.

For Russia this has not been a good day.

Mr Putin wanted Ukraine to join his own Eurasian Customs Union - watching this 'brotherly nation' instead publicly wrenching itself from the Kremlin's sphere of influence is deeply troubling.

This is not just about losing Ukraine to Europe - it's the prospect of the EU, and with it the old Cold War bogeyman of Nato, expanding East, right up to Russia's border.

Ukraine's success, or otherwise, will depend on Russia's reaction, and western politicians' resolve.

But Friday was an important day - "perhaps the most important day", said President Petro Poroshenko, in the country's post-independence history, "a symbol of faith, and unbreakable will".

He will need both in the months to come.

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Russia Accuses US Over Ukraine Confrontation

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the US of encouraging Ukraine into a confrontation with Moscow.

And he claimed the chances of resolving the Cold War-style crisis would be better if only Russia and Europe were involved.

Mr Lavrov suggested the US was an obstacle to settling the Ukraine conflict

Speaking on television, Mr Lavrov said: "Our American colleagues still prefer to push the Ukrainian leadership toward a confrontational path."

It came after EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Friday decided against  immediately imposing new sanctions on Russia for destabilising eastern Ukraine, but gave Moscow and pro-Russian separatists until Monday to take steps to improve the situation.

Ukraine has also extended a ceasefire by its forces for 72 hours.

They also signed agreements with with Ukraine and two other former Soviet states to establish closer political and economic links with Europe.

Kiev celebrated the historic agreement between Ukraine and the EU

It was the decision of the former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych to ditch a deal with Europe in favour of a pact with Russia, which triggered protests culminating in his overthrow earlier this year.

Moscow responded by annexing the mainly Russian-speaking Crimea in March, that led to pro-Moscow separatists rise up in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine's newly-elected president, Petro Poroshenko, travelled to Brussels to finalise a historic deal with the EU, with agreements also signed by the republics of Moldova and Georgia.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "The UK is firmly committed to the prosperity of these sovereign and independent countries, which are signalling their determination to forge closer political and economic links with Europe.

"I look forward to ever closer relationships that will better the lives of their people and contribute to prosperity across the region."

Ukraine is seeking to increase its gas production after Russia cut exports

The Foreign Office predicted that the completion of the agreements could result in GDP growth in Georgia of €292m (£234m) a year and €1.2bn (£960m) in Ukraine, while boosting Moldova's national income by 5.4% annually.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is seeking to increase its own gas production after Russia's state-controlled gas company, Gazprom, cut exports to the country, after talks to settle a debt and agree a lower price brokedown.

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Chiellini Says Suarez Bite Ban Is 'Excessive'

Luis Suarez: A Huge Talent But Trouble

Updated: 6:06am UK, Friday 27 June 2014

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent, in Rio de Janeiro

To his countrymen, Luis Suarez is an unambiguous character.

He is the boy from an impoverished quarter of Salto who became a hero; a natural who plays with the ferocious pride and raw spirit that embodies the national self-image.

You do not have to be Uruguayan to admire his luminous talent. Watching him score the goals that eliminated England in Sao Paulo last week it was impossible not to admire the certainty of his play, the single-minded ability not just to try but to deliver.

But it is equally hard to ignore his recidivist, violent streak, and nor should we try.

Uruguay has rushed to his defence this week, but none of the conspiracies or indulgences offered by his countrymen can sweeten Suarez's offences.

Three times on a professional football field he has bitten an opponent. It is conduct we train out of pets and children, assuming that adult humans do not need to be reminded.

Who knows where it comes from. An army of experts have had their say in the last few days, offering explanations ranging from the Freudian to the footballing.

For everyone, save Suarez, the answer is largely irrelevant. What matters for his club and country is what happens next.

For Liverpool it is a pressing question. The club and its fans love Suarez but they have good reason to feel let down.

They backed him ham-fistedly through the Patrice Evra racism storm, and then with far more assurance and self-awareness following his assault on Branislav Ivanovic.

Last season they seemed to get a return on that pastoral care. Suarez was focused and fabulous, his goals fully deserving a clean sweep of player of the year awards from his fellow pros and the journalists his teammates now accuse of conspiring, and supporters groups.

Anfield fully expected to return to the barricades for Suarez this summer, but they anticipated the attack would come from Real Madrid and Barcelona, once more hunting his signature.

Instead, they will welcome back a player who will not be available until November and will attract only negative vibes in the meantime. Restoring trust on both sides will be a major challenge for manager Brendan Rogers.

There is perhaps only one group for whom Suarez's inexplicable conduct is good news.

It is not often that Fifa has been able to scale the moral high-ground in recent times but the swift, decisive judgment against Suarez offered them a chance they were not going to miss.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter resisted repeated invitations from Sky News to offer a word on Suarez's ban but the message of his silence was clear. The World Cup show has been a wow. Presented with a pantomime villain Fifa banished him to the wings.

For once, few will argue it was the right move.

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Ukraine Risks Russian Wrath By Signing EU Deal

Ukraine's president has signed a trade pact with the EU, seven months after his predecessor set off a crisis in the country by backing out of the same deal.

Petro Poroshenko said it may be "most important day" for Ukraine since it became independent from the Soviet Union.

But the deal has angered Russia, which, according to the Reuters news agency, warned of "grave consequences".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would take measures to protect its economy if it is negatively affected by the pact.

It came as the UN's refugee agency reported a sharp rise in the number of people fleeing eastern Ukraine.

More than 16,000 people have fled their homes in the past week, bringing the number of displaced within the country to 54,000.

Mr Poroshenko gives a thumbs up to Angela Merkel at a meeting in Brussels

A decision by former president Viktor Yanukovych last November to turn his back on Europe in favour of closer ties with Russia prompted violent protests on the streets of Kiev.

Mr Yanukovych was eventually ousted in February, before the crisis that saw Russia annexe Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

Speaking on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a ceasefire in Ukraine to allow talks between Kiev and the rebels.

His comments came as two other former Soviet republics, Georgia and Moldova, also signed agreements with the EU in Brussels.

The deals mean businesses whose goods and practices meet EU standards will be able to trade freely in any union country without tariffs.

"Over the last months, Ukraine paid the highest possible price to make her European dreams come true," said Mr Poroshenko, who claimed to have signed the Association Agreement with the same pen his predecessor would have used.

"It's absolutely a new perspective for my country."

Alongside the deal is a long-term plan for Ukraine to adopt EU product regulations, modernise its economy and strengthen the rule of law and independent courts.

Moscow previously warned Ukraine that signing the deal could end its free trade arrangement with Russia.

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ISIS Massacre: Tikrit Satellite Images Emerge

Timeline: How The Iraq Crisis Unfolded

Updated: 9:29am UK, Tuesday 24 June 2014

A look back at the main events in the Iraq crisis, which has seen Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group move to within 50 miles of the capital Baghdad.

December 2011: US troops complete their withdrawal after the 2003 invasion which led to the removal of Saddam Hussein.

August 2013: More than 70 people are killed in attacks at the end of Ramadan. ISIS claim responsibility.

January 2-4, 2014: ISIS declares itself in control of the western city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi following clashes sparked by the clearing of a Sunni-Arab protest camp.

February: al Qaeda formally disowns ISIS, which was at one time an affiliate, because of its extreme methods.

April: Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki wins the most seats in a general election.

June 10: ISIS seizes all of Nineveh province in the north, including the capital Mosul - Iraq's second city. Mr Maliki asks parliament to declare a state of emergency.

June 11: The militants launch a wave of attacks further south, taking Tikrit and freeing hundreds of prisoners in Baiji. An assault on Samarra, 70 miles (110km) north of Baghdad, is repelled by security forces.

June 12: Iraq's air force strikes fighters' positions near Mosul and Tikrit.

US President Barack Obama says he is looking at "all the options" to help the government, which fails to secure authorisation for a state of emergency.

The army abandons its bases in Kirkuk, leaving Kurdish Peshmerga troops to take control.

June 13: A top Shia cleric issues a call to arms, telling the population to take up arms and defend their country.

Mr Maliki claims government forces have started to clear cities of "terrorists" and implements an emergency plan to protect Baghdad.

President Obama rules out sending back troops to fight ISIS.

The rebels move into the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla in eastern province of Diyala.

June 14: Iran offers to work with the US to tackle the crisis, as Britain pledges an initial £3m in emergency aid to help refugees fleeing the violence.

The Iraqi army's fightback continues, with forces retaking the towns of Ishaqi, al-Mutasim and Duluiyah in Salaheddin province.

Troops also regain much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town.

US aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush is ordered to the Persian Gulf.

June 15: Photos emerge appearing to show an ISIS massacre of 1,700 captured government soldiers. Baghdad says number is exaggerated.

Reports say militants have overrun Tal Afar, the largest town in Nineveh province.

A bombing in central Baghdad leaves 15 people dead and dozens injured.

Former PM Tony Blair tells Sky News that critics who believe the violence is the result of the 2003 invasion are "profoundly mistaken".

June 16: Video footage purporting to show an ISIS fighter questioning and killing unarmed Iraqi soldiers draws condemnation.

ISIS takes control of Tal Afar and the al Adhim area of Diyala province.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington is "open to discussions with Iran".

June 17: Britain announces it is reopening its Iranian embassy, with William Hague saying the "circumstances are right" as the West looks to improve relations to help tackle the crisis in Iraq.

Iraq's Shia leaders accuse Saudi Arabia of promoting "genocide" by backing Sunni militants.

June 18: Iraq's foreign minister asks the US to carry out airstrikes to help reverse the sweeping gains of Islamist militants in the country.

David Cameron warns that if Britain does not intervene in the Middle East crisis then terrorists will "hit the UK at home".

Insurgents are seen parading through the city of Baiji with captured vehicles after reports they have taken over three-quarters of Iraq's biggest oil refinery.

ISIS charts its brutality and tactics in annual reports called al-Naba - The Report, it emerges.

June 19: Iraqi authorities say government forces have retaken the Baiji oil refinery after fierce fighting.

Barck Obama says US troops will not return to combat in Iraq, but he would be prepared to take "targeted action".

The president also announces additional equipment and up to 300 additional military advisers could be provided to help fight the ISIS insurgency.

June 20: Iraq's senior Shia religious authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani calls for a new government for the country as it struggles to stop Sunni militants.

Barack Obama piles further pressure on Iraq's PM Nouri al Maliki, saying he needs to take urgent steps to heal the sectarian rift in the country, but stopping short of demanding he quit.

A video of British jihadists urging Western Muslims to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria emerges on social media.

June 21: The family of Naseer Muthana, 20, who appears in the ISIS recruitment video and younger brother Aseel, 17, who followed him to fight in the region say they are "devastated". 

The men's father Ahmed Muthana tells Sky News he believes his son Nasser was radicalised in a mosque in the United Kingdom.

In Iraq, dozens of Iraqi troops are killed as ISIS militants seize the crucial Qaim crossing into Syria.

A Shia preacher loyal to anti-US cleric Moqtada al Sadr warns that the 300 US military advisers en route to Iraq will be attacked.

June 22: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei comes out in opposition of US intervention in neighbouring Iraq.

President Barack Obama warns ISIS could grow in power, destabilise the region and pose a threat to the US.

The mother of one of two Britons filmed in a militants' video calling for Western Muslims to fight in Syria and Iraq, Reyaad Khan, pleads for him to come home in an emotional Sky News interview.

A former head of counter-terrorism at MI6 tells Sky's Murnaghan programme up to 300 Islamist fighters from Iraq and Syria may have returned to the UK and it would be "impossible" to keep track of all of them.

June 23: Barack Obama warns ISIS could pose a threat to the US, hours after the Islamist militants make dramatic gains by capturing four towns in western Iraq.

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Baghdad for talks with Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.

June 24: John Kerry arrives in Irbil for talks with Kurdistan's regional government President Massoud Barzani.

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Suarez: 'Not Enough Evidence' For Bite Sanctions

The head of Uruguay's football association has said there is not enough evidence for Fifa to "truly sanction" Luis Suarez after he appeared to bite an Italian defender.

The Liverpool striker was charged after television footage and photographs appeared to show him chewing on Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder in Tuesday night's Group D match.

Fifa's independent disciplinary committee met late into the evening on Wednesday without coming to a verdict and will meet again on Thursday.

But Wilmar Valdez told Uruguay's Channel 10 television that video evidence shown at the hearing was "not clear".

"We understand that there is not sufficient evidence to truly sanction Luis," he said.

A Fifa official has told Sky News Suarez "must face a severe sanction" if found guilty of biting Chiellini.

"If we allow this where will it stop?" he said.

Suarez was banned for biting Branislav Ivanovic

But his country's President, Jose Mujica, has insisted: "I didn't see him bite anyone.

"We didn't choose him to be a philosopher or a mechanic or to have good manners. He's a great player.

"If we're going to take decisions in football based on what TV says, then there are loads of penalties and handballs you have to give that weren't given. So bad luck."

Suarez's  team-mates have also rallied to his defence.

Skipper Diego Lugano even suggested there was a media vendetta against the player.

"The British media has a vendetta against Suarez, and everyone knows that.

"It's obvious the vendetta sells newspapers in England, otherwise you wouldn't be here. Uruguay and Italy played yesterday (Tuesday). On Saturday Uruguay plays Colombia, I don't know why there's a British journalist asking about Suarez."

However Suarez was criticised by Uruguay football legend Alcides Ghiggia - the last survivor of the team which defeated Brazil to win the 1950 World Cup.

"Suarez plays well but he has done things that are not normal for a player nor for a soccer game," he said. "I think Fifa can sanction him."

The 27-year-old, banned twice before for biting opposing players, could be expelled from the tournament if found guilty.

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Sao Paulo Drug Addicts Gripped By 'Cracklands'

By Alex Rossi, Senior Correspondent

Brazil's leading addiction expert has told Sky News a generation of young people are being lost to the country's growing crack epidemic.

Ronaldo Laranjeira said the problem with crack use has become so acute over the last decade it is like a war.

He claimed the latest research shows one-third of all users die within 12 years of getting hooked.

"We say they're like zombies because they've lost a lot of weight ... they've lost some of humanity," he said.

"That's why the crack can produce a sort of brain damage - if you use crack cocaine for years on end, the structure of your brain changes."

Former addict Desiree: 'In five seconds it goes to your mind'

Many of Brazil's cities now have places known as 'Cracolandias', or Cracklands.

They are open street markets where the highly addictive drug is bought and consumed.

Prince Harry is expected to visit one of the worst areas in the mega-city of Sao Paulo, as his tour of Brazil comes to an end.

He will tour the area with Mayor Fernando Haddad, who will explain how they have adopted a policy of providing housing, food and work for addicts in a bid to tackle the drug problem.

The Prince recently described how he was reduced to tears by the moving stories of young Brazilian children who had lost parents to drugs, violence or prison.

Ronaldo Laranjeira: 'They are like zombies. They have lost some humanity'

Sao Paulo's Cracolandia is dangerous and chaotic, with rambling users lighting-up openly under the gaze of the police who look intimidated.

Addict Bruna told Sky News there are often fights and people will commit murder for the cost of a hit of the drug.

Crack cocaine in such areas has effectively been decriminalised.

The problem is so big the best the authorities can do to contain it is to try and stop it spreading to other neighbourhoods.

Recovering addict Desiree, who has been clean for three years, said the crack epidemic is destroying parts of Brazil.

There are more than a million crack-cocaine users in Brazil

"You use it and in five seconds it goes to your mind and you need the drugs every time," she said.

"It's an epidemic in Brazil. It's terrible. When you look, it's a war."

There are more than one million users in Brazil - about 1% of the adult population - and the social cost of rising crime is enormous.

As the economy has grown, so too has the appetite for drugs.

Competition among the drug lords means prices are kept low and a user can stay high all day for just a few pounds.

Clarice Sandi Madrugo, a substance abuse researcher, said it is because of this that crack is so deadly.

"It's much easier to get crack than getting anything else and we're talking about a very addictive drug that's the cheapest in the world," he said.

"Brazil has the cheapest crack cocaine in the world."

Sao Paulo has set up a number of treatment centres to help addicts but in most cities there is little in the way of drug policy.

Experts claim it means Brazil's struggle with the crack cocaine addiction is likely to get worse before it gets better. 

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Cleric To 'Shake The Ground' Fighting Militants

Iraq's Shia cleric Moqtada al Sadr has warned his supporters will "shake the ground" fighting the Sunni insurgency sweeping through the country.

In a televised address, al Sadr also expressed opposition to US military advisors who are providing Iraqi commanders with tactical assistance to repel the Sunni militants that have overrun swathes of the country and reportedly killed more than 1,000 people.

Hundreds of Iraqi villagers have been fleeing insurgent incursions orchestrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and have crowded at a checkpoint on the edge of the country's relatively safe Kurdish-controlled territory.

Al Sadr warned the US against meeting with Iraqi commanders

Iraq's beleaguered military were initially overcome by the ferocity of the insurgency that captured several strategic cities in Iraq, including Qaim, Rawa, Haditha and Ramadi.

Government forces have since recovered ground and repelled further assaults on other towns and infrastructure, although there are reports the offensive has been bolstered by Islamist rebels from Syria joining their counterparts in Iraq.

Al Sadr also called for "new faces" in a national unity government after elections in April saw Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki win with the most seats, although he failed to secure a majority.

Mehdi Army women loyal to al Sadr parade in Baghdad

But al Maliki warned he would not be sidelined by rivals seeking to use the insurgency and fragile state of the country to try to oust him. 

Such a move was "an attempt by those who are against the constitution to eliminate the young democratic process and steal the votes of the voters," he said.

US officials have also revealed Syria launched airstrikes on militant positions on the Iraq-Syrian border near Qaim on Tuesday in an attempt to disrupt the militants who are fighting both the Syrian and Iraqi governments.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad has been locked in a bloody civil war with opposition groups since 2011.

William Hague said 'polital unity' was the most important challenge

Maliki reportedly confirmed the airstrikes, adding that Iraq did not request the raid, but that it was "welcomed".

The US has made concerted efforts to unite Iraq's fractious political leaders in the face of the offensive, although they have shown little sign of coming together.

Foreign Secretary William Hague is currently in Iraq meet political and community leaders to stress the importance of political unity. 

"The Iraqi state is facing an existential threat, with huge ramifications for the future stability and freedom of this country," he said, adding: "The single most important factor that will determine whether or not Iraq overcomes this challenge is political unity."

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Militant Leader Vows To Stop PM 'Burning Iraq'

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent, in Irbil

A senior Iraqi Sunni leader has told Sky News that his men will continue to fight Iraqi government forces until the current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki steps down.

"If Maliki stays in power Iraq will end," Sheikh Ali Al-Salman told us.

"We will never allow that to happen, whatever it costs us. He is using the same policies as Saddam. He is burning Iraq to stay in power."

Sheikh Al-Salman heads a militant group of fighters which now number in the thousands. His army is growing daily.

"I think Iraq is facing two choices: either a white civil war or a divided Iraq," he predicts.

"The international community is to blame. The US administration should not leave Iraq like this. They should not walk away from Iraq."

Nouri al-Maliki is accused of behaving like Saddam

His Military Council for the Revolutionary Tribes is based in Ramadi but controls large parts of Anbar Province to the west of Baghdad, the scene of recent insurgent fighting.

Al-Salman's men are currently fighting alongside ISIS against the Iraqi military.

But whilst they have a mutual cause, he warns that ISIS has no future in Iraq.

"ISIS came after our revolution and they tried to benefit from it. ISIS has tried to open Iraq up to international interference. Will we fight ISIS? Yes, but not for the time being."

Smoke rises from fighting near Taza Khormato, Iraq

Before ISIS captured headlines in Europe and America, Sheikh Al-Salman was the first person to take arms against Nouri Al-Maliki's government six months ago. They laid the ground for ISIS to join the fight.

Sheikh Al-Salman has been contacted by the US government but he hasn't held direct meetings with them although he told us he is willing to work with them to find a solution.

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Kerry: Kurdish Forces Critical In Defeating ISIS

Timeline: How The Iraq Crisis Unfolded

Updated: 9:29am UK, Tuesday 24 June 2014

A look back at the main events in the Iraq crisis, which has seen Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group move to within 50 miles of the capital Baghdad.

December 2011: US troops complete their withdrawal after the 2003 invasion which led to the removal of Saddam Hussein.

August 2013: More than 70 people are killed in attacks at the end of Ramadan. ISIS claim responsibility.

January 2-4, 2014: ISIS declares itself in control of the western city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi following clashes sparked by the clearing of a Sunni-Arab protest camp.

February: al Qaeda formally disowns ISIS, which was at one time an affiliate, because of its extreme methods.

April: Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki wins the most seats in a general election.

June 10: ISIS seizes all of Nineveh province in the north, including the capital Mosul - Iraq's second city. Mr Maliki asks parliament to declare a state of emergency.

June 11: The militants launch a wave of attacks further south, taking Tikrit and freeing hundreds of prisoners in Baiji. An assault on Samarra, 70 miles (110km) north of Baghdad, is repelled by security forces.

June 12: Iraq's air force strikes fighters' positions near Mosul and Tikrit.

US President Barack Obama says he is looking at "all the options" to help the government, which fails to secure authorisation for a state of emergency.

The army abandons its bases in Kirkuk, leaving Kurdish Peshmerga troops to take control.

June 13: A top Shia cleric issues a call to arms, telling the population to take up arms and defend their country.

Mr Maliki claims government forces have started to clear cities of "terrorists" and implements an emergency plan to protect Baghdad.

President Obama rules out sending back troops to fight ISIS.

The rebels move into the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla in eastern province of Diyala.

June 14: Iran offers to work with the US to tackle the crisis, as Britain pledges an initial £3m in emergency aid to help refugees fleeing the violence.

The Iraqi army's fightback continues, with forces retaking the towns of Ishaqi, al-Mutasim and Duluiyah in Salaheddin province.

Troops also regain much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town.

US aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush is ordered to the Persian Gulf.

June 15: Photos emerge appearing to show an ISIS massacre of 1,700 captured government soldiers. Baghdad says number is exaggerated.

Reports say militants have overrun Tal Afar, the largest town in Nineveh province.

A bombing in central Baghdad leaves 15 people dead and dozens injured.

Former PM Tony Blair tells Sky News that critics who believe the violence is the result of the 2003 invasion are "profoundly mistaken".

June 16: Video footage purporting to show an ISIS fighter questioning and killing unarmed Iraqi soldiers draws condemnation.

ISIS takes control of Tal Afar and the al Adhim area of Diyala province.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington is "open to discussions with Iran".

June 17: Britain announces it is reopening its Iranian embassy, with William Hague saying the "circumstances are right" as the West looks to improve relations to help tackle the crisis in Iraq.

Iraq's Shia leaders accuse Saudi Arabia of promoting "genocide" by backing Sunni militants.

June 18: Iraq's foreign minister asks the US to carry out airstrikes to help reverse the sweeping gains of Islamist militants in the country.

David Cameron warns that if Britain does not intervene in the Middle East crisis then terrorists will "hit the UK at home".

Insurgents are seen parading through the city of Baiji with captured vehicles after reports they have taken over three-quarters of Iraq's biggest oil refinery.

ISIS charts its brutality and tactics in annual reports called al-Naba - The Report, it emerges.

June 19: Iraqi authorities say government forces have retaken the Baiji oil refinery after fierce fighting.

Barck Obama says US troops will not return to combat in Iraq, but he would be prepared to take "targeted action".

The president also announces additional equipment and up to 300 additional military advisers could be provided to help fight the ISIS insurgency.

June 20: Iraq's senior Shia religious authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani calls for a new government for the country as it struggles to stop Sunni militants.

Barack Obama piles further pressure on Iraq's PM Nouri al Maliki, saying he needs to take urgent steps to heal the sectarian rift in the country, but stopping short of demanding he quit.

A video of British jihadists urging Western Muslims to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria emerges on social media.

June 21: The family of Naseer Muthana, 20, who appears in the ISIS recruitment video and younger brother Aseel, 17, who followed him to fight in the region say they are "devastated". 

The men's father Ahmed Muthana tells Sky News he believes his son Nasser was radicalised in a mosque in the United Kingdom.

In Iraq, dozens of Iraqi troops are killed as ISIS militants seize the crucial Qaim crossing into Syria.

A Shia preacher loyal to anti-US cleric Moqtada al Sadr warns that the 300 US military advisers en route to Iraq will be attacked.

June 22: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei comes out in opposition of US intervention in neighbouring Iraq.

President Barack Obama warns ISIS could grow in power, destabilise the region and pose a threat to the US.

The mother of one of two Britons filmed in a militants' video calling for Western Muslims to fight in Syria and Iraq, Reyaad Khan, pleads for him to come home in an emotional Sky News interview.

A former head of counter-terrorism at MI6 tells Sky's Murnaghan programme up to 300 Islamist fighters from Iraq and Syria may have returned to the UK and it would be "impossible" to keep track of all of them.

June 23: Barack Obama warns ISIS could pose a threat to the US, hours after the Islamist militants make dramatic gains by capturing four towns in western Iraq.

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Baghdad for talks with Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.

June 24: John Kerry arrives in Irbil for talks with Kurdistan's regional government President Massoud Barzani.

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Al Jazeera Journalists: Al Sisi 'Will Not Act'

Egypt's newly elected president has said he will not intervene over the jailing of three Al Jazeera journalists despite international condemnation.

Australian Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian national Mohammed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed were jailed for seven years each on Monday for spreading false news and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mr Mohamed received an additional three years on a separate charge involving possession of weapons.

World leaders, including Prime Minister David Cameron and Australian PM Tony Abbott, have called on Cairo to review the case, which has been widely seen as being politically motivated.

Egypt has faced international condemnation since the trio were sentenced

But in a televised speech at a military graduation ceremony, Egypt's new leader, Abdel Fattah al Sisi, said: "We will not interfere in judicial rulings.

"We must respect judicial rulings and not criticise them even if others do not understand this."

Earlier Mr Greste's parents described his seven-year sentence as "a slap in the face and a kick in the groin".

Speaking at a press conference in Brisbane alongside his wife Lois, Juris Greste said: "We're not usually a family of superlatives, but I have to say ... my vocabulary fails to convey just how shattered we are.

"You can never prepare yourself for something as painful as this."

Sky News and the BBC were among the media organisations to call for the trio's release prior to the verdict.

A number of journalists held a silent protest over the court's decision outside New Broadcasting House in London on Tuesday at 9.41am - the time of the sentencing.

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Jihadist's Mother Pleads For Him To Return Home

Faith Lost In Iraq PM Amid Political Limbo

Updated: 5:46pm UK, Friday 20 June 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, in Baghdad

The US President, Shia politicians, Sunni chieftans and none other than the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has joined the clamour for Iraq's Prime Minister to move fast and form a government.

The nation has languished since elections on April 30 in a political limbo that arguably undermined faith in the central government, even among the Shia-dominated armed forces.

That might, partly, explain their rapid collapse in the face of far fewer forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) plus their allies.

But now that Iraq's supreme court has ratified the results of the elections what possible reason could Nouri al Maliki have for delay?

One explanation may simply be political.

His stewardship over previous years has entrenched sectarian divisions and seen an explosion in corruption.

His party bloc won 92 of the 328 seats in Iraq's parliament and he'll need 165 to form a coalition administration.

He, therefore, has to get involved in some serious horse trading with other Shia parties to build his coalition.

But they are now losing faith in him. Particularly in his apparent refusal to reach out to Sunni parties and offer them stakes in the central government - such as a security portfolio and a ministry which would give them access to patronage systems such as an education or public works - so that they feel both secure and that they have an investment in the future political structures.

A more conspiratorial thesis, fuelled by the conspiratorial utterances of lame duck ministers left over from the previous administration, is that Iraq's latest travails are the fault of external forces.

Jordan, Saudi Arabia (both Sunni countries), the US and others are being blamed for manipulating the Middle East and somehow creating ISIS.

There is evidence of Saudi individual, and possible state funding, for extremist militant groups in Syria, which may include ISIS.

And Jordan has played a significant role in trying to boost the fortunes of the non-extremist Free Syrian Army.

But Mr al Maliki may have calculated that he can either weather the latest storm - or let ISIS form an impoverished caliphate in the desert north of his country which would leave the Shia with Baghdad and the south.

It's the south, after all, that holds the lion's share of the world's second largest oil reserves.

It can ship its oil out through the Gulf, via Kuwait, or via Iran.

A Shia state or semi-state would not only be self-sufficient - it would be spared the burden of sharing Iraq's spoils with other sectarian groups like the Sunni and the Kurds (who already have their own autonomy and oil industry).

Such a move, or allowing events to drift to this reality, would place the south of Iraq firmly inside Iran's imperial embrace.

That is not something that Saudi Arabia would be able to tolerate in the long term as it vies with Iran for influence in the Middle East.

Nor is it anything that a rump Sunni 'caliphate' would be able to live with - the extremists within it would forever plot how to steal it back by force.

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John Kerry In Iraq As ISIS Tightens Grip

Timeline: How The Iraq Crisis Unfolded

Updated: 10:23am UK, Monday 23 June 2014

A look back at the main events in the Iraq crisis, which has seen Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group move to within 50 miles of the capital Baghdad.

December 2011: US troops complete their withdrawal after the 2003 invasion which led to the removal of Saddam Hussein.

August 2013: More than 70 people are killed in attacks at the end of Ramadan. ISIS claim responsibility.

January 2-4, 2014: ISIS declares itself in control of the western city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi following clashes sparked by the clearing of a Sunni-Arab protest camp.

February: al Qaeda formally disowns ISIS, which was at one time an affiliate, because of its extreme methods.

April: Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki wins the most seats in a general election.

June 10: ISIS seizes all of Nineveh province in the north, including the capital Mosul - Iraq's second city. Mr Maliki asks parliament to declare a state of emergency.

June 11: The militants launch a wave of attacks further south, taking Tikrit and freeing hundreds of prisoners in Baiji. An assault on Samarra, 70 miles (110km) north of Baghdad, is repelled by security forces.

June 12: Iraq's air force strikes fighters' positions near Mosul and Tikrit.

US President Barack Obama says he is looking at "all the options" to help the government, which fails to secure authorisation for a state of emergency.

The army abandons its bases in Kirkuk, leaving Kurdish Peshmerga troops to take control.

June 13: A top Shia cleric issues a call to arms, telling the population to take up arms and defend their country.

Mr Maliki claims government forces have started to clear cities of "terrorists" and implements an emergency plan to protect Baghdad.

President Obama rules out sending back troops to fight ISIS.

The rebels move into the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla in eastern province of Diyala.

June 14: Iran offers to work with the US to tackle the crisis, as Britain pledges an initial £3m in emergency aid to help refugees fleeing the violence.

The Iraqi army's fightback continues, with forces retaking the towns of Ishaqi, al-Mutasim and Duluiyah in Salaheddin province.

Troops also regain much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town.

US aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush is ordered to the Persian Gulf.

June 15: Photos emerge appearing to show an ISIS massacre of 1,700 captured government soldiers. Baghdad says number is exaggerated.

Reports say militants have overrun Tal Afar, the largest town in Nineveh province.

A bombing in central Baghdad leaves 15 people dead and dozens injured.

Former PM Tony Blair tells Sky News that critics who believe the violence is the result of the 2003 invasion are "profoundly mistaken".

June 16: Video footage purporting to show an ISIS fighter questioning and killing unarmed Iraqi soldiers draws condemnation.

ISIS takes control of Tal Afar and the al Adhim area of Diyala province.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington is "open to discussions with Iran".

June 17: Britain announces it is reopening its Iranian embassy, with William Hague saying the "circumstances are right" as the West looks to improve relations to help tackle the crisis in Iraq.

Iraq's Shia leaders accuse Saudi Arabia of promoting "genocide" by backing Sunni militants.

June 18: Iraq's foreign minister asks the US to carry out airstrikes to help reverse the sweeping gains of Islamist militants in the country.

David Cameron warns that if Britain does not intervene in the Middle East crisis then terrorists will "hit the UK at home".

Insurgents are seen parading through the city of Baiji with captured vehicles after reports they have taken over three-quarters of Iraq's biggest oil refinery.

ISIS charts its brutality and tactics in annual reports called al-Naba - The Report, it emerges.

June 19: Iraqi authorities say government forces have retaken the Baiji oil refinery after fierce fighting.

Barck Obama says US troops will not return to combat in Iraq, but he would be prepared to take "targeted action".

The president also announces additional equipment and up to 300 additional military advisers could be provided to help fight the ISIS insurgency.

June 20: Iraq's senior Shia religious authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani calls for a new government for the country as it struggles to stop Sunni militants.

Barack Obama piles further pressure on Iraq's PM Nouri al Maliki, saying he needs to take urgent steps to heal the sectarian rift in the country, but stopping short of demanding he quit.

A video of British jihadists urging Western Muslims to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria emerges on social media.

June 21: The family of Naseer Muthana, 20, who appears in the ISIS recruitment video and younger brother Aseel, 17, who followed him to fight in the region say they are "devastated". 

The men's father Ahmed Muthana tells Sky News he believes his son Nasser was radicalised in a mosque in the United Kingdom.

In Iraq, dozens of Iraqi troops are killed as ISIS militants seize the crucial Qaim crossing into Syria.

A Shia preacher loyal to anti-US cleric Moqtada al Sadr warns that the 300 US military advisers en route to Iraq will be attacked.

June 22: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei comes out in opposition of US intervention in neighbouring Iraq.

President Barack Obama warns ISIS could grow in power, destabilise the region and pose a threat to the US.

The mother of one of two Britons filmed in a militants' video calling for Western Muslims to fight in Syria and Iraq, Reyaad Khan, pleads for him to come home in an emotional Sky News interview.

A former head of counter-terrorism at MI6 tells Sky's Murnaghan programme up to 300 Islamist fighters from Iraq and Syria may have returned to the UK and it would be "impossible" to keep track of all of them.

June 23: Barack Obama warns ISIS could pose a threat to the US, hours after the Islamist militants make dramatic gains by capturing four towns in western Iraq.

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Baghdad for talks with Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.

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Al Jazeera Journalists Jailed For Seven Years

Three Al Jazeera journalists have each been jailed for seven years in Egypt after being found guilty of aiding terrorism.

Australian Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian national Mohammed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed watched from cages as they were convicted of spreading false news and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mr Mohamed received an additional three years on a separate charge involving possession of weapons.

The case has provoked outrage from freedom of speech activists who say it was politicised - and David Cameron was said by Downing Street to be "completely appalled" by the verdict.

Peter Greste was one of 14 defendants sentenced

The families of the men - who had denied all the allegations against them in Cairo - collapsed in tears as the sentences were read out.

Greste, a former BBC correspondent, had been in Egypt on a relief posting for just two weeks when the group was detained in December.

His brother Andrew, who will visit him tomorrow, told Australia's ABC 730 show he was "gutted" but that "we're not going to give up the fight".

Fahmy's brother Adel reacted: "This is not a system. This is not a country. They've ruined our lives. It shows everything that's wrong with the system: it's corrupt. This country is corrupt through and through."

Mohammed Fahmy gives evidence in court in May

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she was "shocked and deeply dismayed" by the outcome and would ask the Egyptian government to intervene. 

Her UK counterpart, William Hague, said he would also ask Cairo to review the case "as a matter of urgency".

Sky News and the BBC were among the media organisations to call for the trio's release prior to the verdict.

Sky's Middle East Correspondent Sherine Tadros, who was in court, said: "Anyone who watched this trial has seen a complete farce. There was no evidence presented linking these journalists to a "terrorist organisation" or the Muslim Brotherhood.

A protest in Lebanon against the detention of journalists in Egypt

"What we've seen time and time again these past few months is a judiciary that is less interested in justice than in exacting revenge."

Another 11 defendants were sentenced in absentia to 10 years, including Al Jazeera's British journalist Sue Turton.

She said: "We really believed the judge would recognise these were politically motivated charges.

"We don't understand what it is they're accusing us of. They're trying to stop anyone having an opinion that doesn't tally with the government's narrative."

Peter Greste had been in Egypt for just two weeks

She added: "I don't want to think about, now they're back in their prison cells, how they're coping with what happened today."

Fellow Brit Dominic Kane was also among those to receive a 10-year sentence in absentia.

The Muslim Brotherhood has been protesting against the government since the army toppled Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in July. The Egyptians labelled it a "terrorist organisation" in December.

The Gulf state of Qatar, which funds Al Jazeera, backs the Muslim Brotherhood.

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Pakistan 'Gang Rape': Arrest Over Hanged Woman

The boyfriend of a woman found hanging from a tree after she was allegedly gang raped has been arrested in Pakistan.

The violent death of Muzammil Bibi, 20, bears a chilling resemblance to a spate of sex crimes that sparked outrage and protests in neighbouring India.

Police in Punjab province said the woman's boyfriend of six months, named by police as Muhammad Saqib, was taken into custody after he confessed to the rape and murder.

Saqib admitted he tried to force the victim to have sex with two of his friends at a wholesale vegetable shop where he worked but she refused, according to police. 

In May, two teen girls were raped and hanged from a tree in India

She was then allegedly raped and killed. Police said Saqib had confessed to the attack, adding that they were still investigating if the woman had been raped by the other men as well.

Police are still looking for the two alleged accomplices.

"The incident occurred in Layyah district (in Punjab province) on Thursday night and was reported to the police on Friday when the local people saw a woman hanging from a tree," senior police official Ghazi Salahudin told AFP.

The murders in Uttar Pradesh sparked angry protests in the region

He said the woman was raped and strangled, and then her body was hanged to make it look like a suicide.

The woman was the eldest of eight siblings - the children of blind parents - and made a living by farming a small piece of land.

The incident echoes an attack in India last month, in which two teenage girls were found gang-raped and hanged from a mango tree in Uttar Pradesh state.

That attack sparked protests over police apathy, and was the latest to highlight India's dismal record on preventing sexual violence.

Amina Bibi, 17, died after setting herself on fire in March

There was further outrage when a lawmaker from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party described rape as a "social crime", saying "sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong".

Though the issues of rape, sexual assault and domestic violence are not as high-profile in Pakistan as they have been in India in recent years, they are widespread in the deeply conservative country.

In March a 17-year-old Pakistani gang rape victim, Amina Bibi, died after setting herself on fire in protest at a police decision to set a key suspect free.

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MI6 Fears 300 Islamist Fighters Back In UK

Faith Lost In Iraq PM Amid Political Limbo

Updated: 5:46pm UK, Friday 20 June 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, in Baghdad

The US President, Shia politicians, Sunni chieftans and none other than the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has joined the clamour for Iraq's Prime Minister to move fast and form a government.

The nation has languished since elections on April 30 in a political limbo that arguably undermined faith in the central government, even among the Shia-dominated armed forces.

That might, partly, explain their rapid collapse in the face of far fewer forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) plus their allies.

But now that Iraq's supreme court has ratified the results of the elections what possible reason could Nouri al Maliki have for delay?

One explanation may simply be political.

His stewardship over previous years has entrenched sectarian divisions and seen an explosion in corruption.

His party bloc won 92 of the 328 seats in Iraq's parliament and he'll need 165 to form a coalition administration.

He, therefore, has to get involved in some serious horse trading with other Shia parties to build his coalition.

But they are now losing faith in him. Particularly in his apparent refusal to reach out to Sunni parties and offer them stakes in the central government - such as a security portfolio and a ministry which would give them access to patronage systems such as an education or public works - so that they feel both secure and that they have an investment in the future political structures.

A more conspiratorial thesis, fuelled by the conspiratorial utterances of lame duck ministers left over from the previous administration, is that Iraq's latest travails are the fault of external forces.

Jordan, Saudi Arabia (both Sunni countries), the US and others are being blamed for manipulating the Middle East and somehow creating ISIS.

There is evidence of Saudi individual, and possible state funding, for extremist militant groups in Syria, which may include ISIS.

And Jordan has played a significant role in trying to boost the fortunes of the non-extremist Free Syrian Army.

But Mr al Maliki may have calculated that he can either weather the latest storm - or let ISIS form an impoverished caliphate in the desert north of his country which would leave the Shia with Baghdad and the south.

It's the south, after all, that holds the lion's share of the world's second largest oil reserves.

It can ship its oil out through the Gulf, via Kuwait, or via Iran.

A Shia state or semi-state would not only be self-sufficient - it would be spared the burden of sharing Iraq's spoils with other sectarian groups like the Sunni and the Kurds (who already have their own autonomy and oil industry).

Such a move, or allowing events to drift to this reality, would place the south of Iraq firmly inside Iran's imperial embrace.

That is not something that Saudi Arabia would be able to tolerate in the long term as it vies with Iran for influence in the Middle East.

Nor is it anything that a rump Sunni 'caliphate' would be able to live with - the extremists within it would forever plot how to steal it back by force.

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Iraqi Troops 'Withdraw' In Face Of ISIS Offensive

Faith Lost In Iraq PM Amid Political Limbo

Updated: 5:46pm UK, Friday 20 June 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, in Baghdad

The US President, Shia politicians, Sunni chieftans and none other than the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has joined the clamour for Iraq's Prime Minister to move fast and form a government.

The nation has languished since elections on April 30 in a political limbo that arguably undermined faith in the central government, even among the Shia-dominated armed forces.

That might, partly, explain their rapid collapse in the face of far fewer forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) plus their allies.

But now that Iraq's supreme court has ratified the results of the elections what possible reason could Nouri al Maliki have for delay?

One explanation may simply be political.

His stewardship over previous years has entrenched sectarian divisions and seen an explosion in corruption.

His party bloc won 92 of the 328 seats in Iraq's parliament and he'll need 165 to form a coalition administration.

He, therefore, has to get involved in some serious horse trading with other Shia parties to build his coalition.

But they are now losing faith in him. Particularly in his apparent refusal to reach out to Sunni parties and offer them stakes in the central government - such as a security portfolio and a ministry which would give them access to patronage systems such as an education or public works - so that they feel both secure and that they have an investment in the future political structures.

A more conspiratorial thesis, fuelled by the conspiratorial utterances of lame duck ministers left over from the previous administration, is that Iraq's latest travails are the fault of external forces.

Jordan, Saudi Arabia (both Sunni countries), the US and others are being blamed for manipulating the Middle East and somehow creating ISIS.

There is evidence of Saudi individual, and possible state funding, for extremist militant groups in Syria, which may include ISIS.

And Jordan has played a significant role in trying to boost the fortunes of the non-extremist Free Syrian Army.

But Mr al Maliki may have calculated that he can either weather the latest storm - or let ISIS form an impoverished caliphate in the desert north of his country which would leave the Shia with Baghdad and the south.

It's the south, after all, that holds the lion's share of the world's second largest oil reserves.

It can ship its oil out through the Gulf, via Kuwait, or via Iran.

A Shia state or semi-state would not only be self-sufficient - it would be spared the burden of sharing Iraq's spoils with other sectarian groups like the Sunni and the Kurds (who already have their own autonomy and oil industry).

Such a move, or allowing events to drift to this reality, would place the south of Iraq firmly inside Iran's imperial embrace.

That is not something that Saudi Arabia would be able to tolerate in the long term as it vies with Iran for influence in the Middle East.

Nor is it anything that a rump Sunni 'caliphate' would be able to live with - the extremists within it would forever plot how to steal it back by force.

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