Isolated and discredited by humiliating military defeat, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, is likely to go soon, battered as he is by only slightly veiled demands for his immediate departure from powerful figures who once supported him. Within hours of President Obama making it implicitly clear that he wants a change of political leadership in Baghdad, the spiritual leader of the Iraqi Shia, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, was calling for a new and “effective” government that avoided the mistakes of the old. Nobody in Baghdad has any doubts that he wants the Prime Minister gone.

The longer Mr Maliki clings on to power the more likely it is that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) will win further victories and the Sunni community will remain united behind the al-Qa’ida-type group. Military sources in Baghdad say Mr Obama’s clear signal that the US was not going to use its air force to preserve the status quo in Baghdad has “damaged the army’s morale and self-confidence”. The army had been hoping somewhat unrealistically for a promise of air strikes to stem the advance of Isis and its allies.

There are other less diplomatic voices demanding that Mr Maliki, who has held office since 2006, should go. Umm Nahid, a resident of Ramadi, the capital of the vast and overwhelmingly Sunni Anbar province, told The Independent that the city had been mostly taken by the Anbar Tribes Revolutionary Council, led by Hatem Suleiman. Suleiman says he is preventing Isis advancing down the road towards Baghdad, but will stop doing this unless the Iraqi army fully withdraws from Ramadi, all prisoners are released (some 100,000 are believed to be in jail) and, above all, “Maliki is removed from power”.

Download the new Independent Premium app Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

His threat strikingly underlines the extent to which Mr Maliki has become a hate figure for the five or six million-strong Iraqi Sunni community. Hostility to the Prime Minister as responsible for their oppression has enabled Isis fanatics to collaborate with disparate Sunni armed groups whom they were previously fighting. For the Sunni, hatred and fear of Mr Maliki is a powerful uniting force just as detestation of Saddam Hussein used to enable the Shia and Kurds to plaster over their differences.

Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Iraq crisis Show all 98 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Iraq crisis 1/98 Iraq Mourners burying 15 bodies in the village of Taza Khormato, near the northern city of Kirkuk AP 2/98 Iraq A Shiite Turkman fighter from the so-called Sahwa or "Awakening" force, manning a position on the front line with insurgents led by the Isis group which has overran swathes of five provinces north and west of Baghdad 3/98 Iraq Kurdish Peshmerga fighters on their military vehicles drive towards the front lines of Mosul villages where they fight against Isis, in the Khazer area between the Iraqi city of Mosul and the Kurdish city of Irbil 4/98 Iraq Fighters of the Isis group parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle down a main road at the northern city of Mosul 5/98 Iraq Shi'ite volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against the Isis, take part in a military-style training in Basra, southeast of Baghdad 6/98 Iraq A Kurdish peshmerga fighter takes his position behind a wall on the front line with militants from the Isis group, in Tuz Khormato, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the oil rich province of Kirkuk 7/98 Iraq Iraqis who fled with families the violence in their home towns walk at a refugee camp near the city of Mosul 8/98 Iraq A member of the Jordanian Bedouin forces stands guard in front of the Jordanian Karameh border crossing at the Jordanian-Iraqi border, near Ruweished city 9/98 Iraq Iraqis gather at the site of a car bomb explosion in a Kurdish-majority neighbourhood of the ethnically mixed northern city of Kirkuk. The blast killed at least three people and also wounded 15 others in the northern part of the tinderbox oil hub, which lies at the centre of territory Iraq's Kurds want to incorporate into their autonomous region over the objections of Baghdad 10/98 Iraq Iraqi Kurdish forces take position near Taza Khormato AFP/Getty Images 11/98 Iraq Kurdistan regional government president Massud Barzani greets US Secretary of State John Kerry at the presidential palace in Arbil Getty Images 12/98 Iraq Iraqi men queue to for a medical check up as they volunteer to join the security forces at a recruitment centre in Baghdad Getty Images 13/98 Iraq Kurdish fighters believe they are ‘facing a new reality and a new Iraq’ AP 14/98 Iraq Militants of the Isis group stand next to captured vehicles left behind by Iraqi security forces at an unknown location in the Salaheddin province. For militant groups, the fight over public perception can be even more important than actual combat, turning military losses into propaganda victories and battlefield successes into powerful tools to build support for the cause 15/98 Iraq A member of the Kurdish security forces takes up position with his weapon while guarding an oil refinery, on the outskirts of Mosul 16/98 Iraq Iraqi Turkmen stand with their weapons as they ready to fight against militants led by the jihadist, in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk 17/98 Iraq Volunteers of the newly formed "Peace Brigades" participate in a parade in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, Baghdad. Thousands of Shiite militiamen have paraded in Baghdad and several other cities in southern Iraq with heavy weaponry, signaling their readiness to take on Sunni militants who control a large chunk of the country's north 18/98 Iraq Iraqi security forces, loyal to Muslim Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr take part in a military parade in the shrine city of Najaf, in central Iraq. International leaders and Iraq's Shiite religious elite have called on the country to unite to face off the insurgent threat, with US Secretary of State John Kerry this weekend heading to the Middle East and Europe in a diplomatic push to bring political stability to the country 19/98 Iraq Iraqi Shiite mourners carry the coffin of a Shiite militiaman killed in Muqdadiyah during his funeral procession, in the shrine city of Najaf. Militants attacked the town of Muqdadiyah, northeast of Baghdad and a key approach to Diyala provincial capital Baquba, sparking clashes that killed 30 Shiite militiamen 20/98 Iraq An Islamist fighter, identified as Abu Muthanna al-Yemeni from Britain (R), speaks in this still image taken undated video shot at an unknown location and uploaded to a social media website. Five Islamist fighters identified as Australian and British nationals have called on Muslims to join the wars in Syria and Iraq, in the new video released by the Isis 21/98 Iraq Al-Qa’ida inspired militants stand with captured Iraqi Army Humvee at a checkpoint belonging to Iraqi Army outside Beiji refinery some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad. The fighting at Beiji comes as Iraq has asked the U.S. for airstrikes targeting the militants from the Isis group. While U.S. President Barack Obama has not fully ruled out the possibility of launching airstrikes, such action is not imminent in part because intelligence agencies have been unable to identify clear targets on the ground, officials said 22/98 Iraq Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces take their positions during clashes with the Isis group in the city of Ramadi 23/98 Iraq Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces shoot during the clashes with the Isis gruop in the city of Ramadi 24/98 Iraq A Peshmerga unit is ready and armed on the front lines outside Kirkuk 25/98 Iraq A U.S. Geological Survey satellite image shows smoke rising from the Baiji refinery near Tikrit 26/98 Iraq A column of smoke rises from an oil refinery in Beiji, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad 27/98 Iraq Iraqi men line up at the main army recruiting center to volunteer for military service in Baghdad, after authorities urged Iraqis to help battle insurgents 28/98 Iraq Iraqi Shiite women hold their weapons as they gather to show their willingness to join Iraqi security forces in the fight against Jihadist militants who have taken over several northern Iraqi cities in the southern Shiite Muslim shrine city of Najaf 29/98 Iraq Kurdish Peshmerga fighters stand next to the bed of a comrade wounded in clashes with jihadists in Kirkuk at the emergency ward of a hospital in Arbil 30/98 Iraq A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter wounded in the legs in clashes with Isis in Kirkuk is watched by a family member as he lies on a bed in the emergency ward of a hospital in Arbil 31/98 Iraq Relatives stand vigil for a Kurdish peshmerga fighter wounded in fighting as he is treated in a hospital in Irbil. Kurdish security and hospital officials said that fighting has been raging since morning between Kurdish fighters known as peshmerga and militants who are trying to take the town of Jalula, in the restive Diyala province some 80 miles (125 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad. Ethnic Kurds now control the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk, moving to fill a vacuum after the flight of Iraqi soldiers. They too are battling the Sunni extremist militants 32/98 Iraq Militants attacked Iraq's main oil refinein Baiji as they pressed an offensive that has seen them capture swathes of territory, a manager and a refinery employee said 33/98 Iraq Militants from the Isis group parading with their weapons in the northern city of Baiji in the in Salaheddin province 34/98 Iraq A smoke rises after an attack by Isis militants on the country's largest oil refinery in Beiji, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad. Iraqi security forces battled insurgents targeting the country's main oil refinery and said they regained partial control of a city near the Syrian border, trying to blunt an offensive by Sunni militants who diplomats fear may have also seized some 100 foreign workers 35/98 Iraq Major General Jamil al-Shammari (C), police chief of Iraq's Diyala province north of Baghdad, inspects the Mafraq police station which includes a prison where the bodies of 44 prisoners were found. An attack by militants was pushed back by Iraqi security forces in Baquba, Diyala's provincial capital within only 60 kilometres (37 miles) of Baghdad, leaving 44 prisoners dead at the Mafraq police station. Accounts differed as to who was responsible for the prisoner killings, with the security spokesman of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki saying the prisoners were killed by insurgents carrying out the attack, and other officials saying they were killed by security forces as they tried to escape 36/98 Iraq Iraqi men mourn over the coffin of an Iraqi soldier who was killed in the clashes with militants in northern Iraq, during the funeral procession in Najaf. More than two million Iraqis have volunteered to fight against militants from the Isis group, Iraqi Energy Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said. The government had no capacity to process any more volunteers, he adds. Isis and other Sunni fighters, including groups linked to the former ruling Baath Party, were reported that they now control swathes of northern Iraq after a lightning advance recently 37/98 Iraq Iraqi displaced people, who have fled violence in Iraq's northern Nineveh province, walk past the wreckage of military vehicles upon their arrival in al-Hamdaniyah, 76 kms west of the Kurdish autonomous region's capital Arbil 38/98 Iraq Demonstrators chant slogans as they carry al-Qa’ida flags in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad. In the week since it captured Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, a Muslim extremist group has tried to win over residents and has stopped short of widely enforcing its strict brand of Islamic law, residents say. Churches remain unharmed and street cleaners are back at work 39/98 Iraq Personnel from the Kurdish security forces detain a man suspected of being a militant belonging to the Isis group, in the outskirts of Kirkuk 40/98 Iraq Iraqi women walk at the site of a car bomb explosion in the mainly Shiite Sadr City district in Baghdad, which killed at least seven people and wounded 20. The blast came amid a week-long militant offensive in which insurgents have seized vast swathes of territory in northern Iraq 41/98 Iraq A member of the oil police force stands guard at Zubair oil field in Basra Reuters 42/98 Iraq An Iraqi man with a boy inspects the scene of a car bomb attack in Sadr city EPA 43/98 Iraq Iraqi Shiite tribesmen parade with their weapons in central Baghdad's Palestine Street as they show their willingness to join Iraqi security forces in the fight against Jihadist militants who have taken over several northern Iraqi cities. Faced with a militant offensive sweeping south toward Baghdad, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced the Iraqi government would arm and equip civilians who volunteer to fight, and thousands have signed up 44/98 Iraq Iraqi men queue at the entrance of a volunteer centre in Karbala city EPA 45/98 Iraq Members of the Shiite Muslim Mehdi Army militia, take part in training in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Iraqi Shiite volunteers, who had been fighting in neighbouring Syria, have been heading home to battle an offensive that has brought militants to near Baghdad, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 46/98 Iraq An injured fighter (C) from the Isis group after a battle with Iraqi soldiers at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq 47/98 Iraq Fighters from the Isis aiming at advancing Iraqi troops at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq 48/98 Iraq Fighters from the Isis group taking position at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq 49/98 Iraq Fighters from the Isis group inspecting vehicles of the Iraqi army after they were seized at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq 50/98 Iraq Iraqi men flash victory signs as they leave the main recruiting center to join the Iraqi army in Baghdad AP 51/98 Iraq Refugees queue to register at a temporary camp in northern Iraq Getty Images 52/98 Iraq Newly-recruited Iraqi volunteers, wearing police forces uniforms, take part in a briefing at a training centre in Karbala Getty Images 53/98 Iraq Kurdish peshmerga forces keep guard around Tal Afar of Mosul Getty Images 54/98 Iraq One Iraqi captive, a corporal, is reluctant to say the slogan, and has to be shouted at repeatedly before he obeys Sky News 55/98 Iraq Iraqi captives held by the extremists Sky News 56/98 Iraq Iraqi captives held by the extremists Sky News 57/98 Iraq Shiite tribal fighters raise their weapons and chant slogans against the Isis group in the northwest Baghdad's Shula neighborhood 58/98 Iraq Tribal fighters carry their weapons as they take part in an intensive security deployment in Dujail, north of Baghdad 59/98 Iraq Iraqi soldiers watch as armed tribesmen gather to show their willingness to join Iraqi security forces in the fight against Jihadist militants who have taken over several northern Iraqi cities in the southern city of Basra 60/98 Iraq Shiite tribal fighters raise their weapons and chant slogans against the Isis group in the northwest Baghdad's Shula neighborhood 61/98 Iraq Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr march during a military-style training in the holy city of Najaf. The United States said it could launch air strikes and act jointly with its arch-enemy Iran to support the Iraqi government, after a rampage by Sunni Islamist insurgents across Iraq that has scrambled alliances in the Middle East 62/98 Iraq Volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi Army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Isis group, gather with their weapons during a parade on the streets in Basra, southeast of Baghdad 63/98 Iraq An Iraqi young boy holds a weapon from the window of a car as people gather to show their readiness to join Iraqi security forces in the fight against Jihadist militants who have taken over several northern Iraqi cities in the capital Baghdad 64/98 Iraq Tribal fighters from Ramadi hold up their weapons as they shout slogans in support of Iraqi security forces in Kerbala 65/98 Iraq Iraqi security forces fire artillery during clashes with Sunni militant group Isis in Jurf al-Sakhar 66/98 Iraq Iraqi security forces fire artillery during clashes with Sunni militant group Isis in Jurf al-Sakhar 67/98 Iraq Ammar al-Hakim, leader of Iraq's largest Shiite party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, exercises a shooting drill in the main army recruiting center in Baghdad. Thousands of Shiites from Baghdad and across southern Iraq answered an urgent call to arms, joining security forces to fight the Islamic militants who have captured large swaths of territory north of the capital and now imperil a city with a much-revered religious shrine 68/98 Iraq An Iraqi security officer stands guard outside the Church of the Virgin Mary in the northern town of Bartala, east of the northern city of Mosul as some Iraqi security stayed in the town to protect the local churches and community 69/98 Iraq The insurgent offensive that has threatened to dismember Iraq spread to the northwest of the country, when Sunni militants launched a dawn raid on a town close to the Syrian border, clashing with police and government forces 70/98 Iraq Volunteers walk with their weapons during a parade in the streets in Al-Fdhiliya district, eastern Baghdad 71/98 Iraq A volunteer, who has joined the Iraqi Army to fight against predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Isis group, holds a weapon during a parade in the streets in Al-Fdhiliya district, eastern Baghdad 72/98 Iraq Militants of the Isis group force captured Iraqi security forces members to the transport 73/98 Iraq Militants of the Isis group transporting dozens of captured Iraqi security forces members to an unknown location in the Salaheddin province ahead of executing them 74/98 Iraq A major offensive spearheaded by Isis but also involving supporters of executed dictator Saddam Hussein has overrun all of one province and chunks of three others 75/98 Iraq Militants of the Isis group executing dozens of captured Iraqi security forces members at an unknown location in the Salaheddin province 76/98 Iraq A women and a girl wash at a tap at a temporary displacement camp set up next to a Kurdish checkpoint in Kalak. Thousands of people have fled Iraq's second city of Mosul after it was overrun by Isis (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) militants. Many have been temporarily housed at various IDP (internally displaced persons) camps around the region including the area close to Erbil, as they hope to enter the safety of the nearby Kurdish region 77/98 Iraq Families arrive at a Kurdish checkpoint next to a temporary displacement camp in Kalak 78/98 Iraq An Iraqi refugee girl from Mosul stands outside her family's tent at Khazir refugee camp outside Irbil, 217 miles (350 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq. Days after Iraq's second-largest city fell to Isis fighters, some Iraqis are already returning to Mosul, lured back by insurgents offering cheap gas and food, restoring power and water and removing traffic barricades 79/98 Iraq Civilians escape from Mosul and come to a region that close to Erbil city and are placed to camp by United Nations and Kurd government in Iraq 80/98 Iraq Young men in Baghdad chant slogans against Isis outside the main army recruiting centre yesterday, where they are volunteering to fight the extremist group Karin Kadim/AP 81/98 Iraq Volunteers who have joined the Iraqi Army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants, who have taken over Mosul and other Northern provinces, board an army truck in Baghdad 82/98 Iraq Isis militants taking position at a Iraqi border post on the Syrian-Iraqi border between the Iraqi Nineveh province and the Syrian town of Al-Hasakah 83/98 Iraq Isis rebels show their flag after seizing an army post AFP/Getty Images 84/98 Iraq Isis militants waving an Islamist flag after the seizure of an Iraqi army checkpoint in Salahuddin Getty Images 85/98 Iraq A girl, who fled from the violence in Mosul, carries a case of water at a camp on the outskirts of Arbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region 86/98 Iraq A displaced Iraqi woman washes her family's laundry as the children shower outside their tent at a temporary camp set up to shelter civilians fleeing violence in Iraq's northern Nineveh province in Aski kalak, 40 kms west of the Kurdish autonomous region's capital Arbil 87/98 Iraq Iraqi refugees from Mosul arrive at Khazir refugee camp outside Irbil, 217 miles (350 kilometers) north of Baghdad AP 88/98 Iraq Refugees flee Mosul AP 89/98 Iraq Iraqi families fleeing violence in the northern Nineveh province gather at a Kurdish checkpoint in Aski kalak, 40 kms West of Arbil, in the autonomous Kurdistan region 90/98 Iraq Refugees fleeing from Mosul head to the self-ruled northern Kurdish region in Irbil, Iraq, 350 kilometers (217 miles) north of Baghdad AP 91/98 Iraq An Iraqi woman carries her property while fleeing from Mosul to Arbil and Duhok due to the clashes between security forces and militants of Isis in Arbil 92/98 Iraq Iraqi people receive water as they flee from Mosul to Arbil and Duhok 93/98 Iraq A woman carries a child as families fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Mosul wait at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region. Radical Sunni Muslim insurgents seized control of most of Iraq's second largest city of Mosul, overrunning a military base and freeing hundreds of prisoners in a spectacular strike against the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government 94/98 Iraq An Iraqi man and his wife flee from Mosul to Arbil and Duhok 95/98 Iraq The residents gather at a security checkpoint between the provinces of Irbil and Duhok which is controlled by Kurdish Peshmerga troops 96/98 Iraq Uniforms reportedly belonging to Iraqi security forces scattered on the road AFP 97/98 Iraq An armoured vehicle belonging to Iraqi security forces in flames, after hundreds of militants from the Isis group launched a major assault on the security forces in Mosul, some 370 km north from the Iraqi capital Baghdad 98/98 Iraq Civilian children stand next to a burnt vehicle during clashes between Iraqi security forces and Isis group in the northern Iraq city of Mosul 1/98 Iraq Mourners burying 15 bodies in the village of Taza Khormato, near the northern city of Kirkuk AP 2/98 Iraq A Shiite Turkman fighter from the so-called Sahwa or "Awakening" force, manning a position on the front line with insurgents led by the Isis group which has overran swathes of five provinces north and west of Baghdad 3/98 Iraq Kurdish Peshmerga fighters on their military vehicles drive towards the front lines of Mosul villages where they fight against Isis, in the Khazer area between the Iraqi city of Mosul and the Kurdish city of Irbil 4/98 Iraq Fighters of the Isis group parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle down a main road at the northern city of Mosul 5/98 Iraq Shi'ite volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against the Isis, take part in a military-style training in Basra, southeast of Baghdad 6/98 Iraq A Kurdish peshmerga fighter takes his position behind a wall on the front line with militants from the Isis group, in Tuz Khormato, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the oil rich province of Kirkuk 7/98 Iraq Iraqis who fled with families the violence in their home towns walk at a refugee camp near the city of Mosul 8/98 Iraq A member of the Jordanian Bedouin forces stands guard in front of the Jordanian Karameh border crossing at the Jordanian-Iraqi border, near Ruweished city 9/98 Iraq Iraqis gather at the site of a car bomb explosion in a Kurdish-majority neighbourhood of the ethnically mixed northern city of Kirkuk. The blast killed at least three people and also wounded 15 others in the northern part of the tinderbox oil hub, which lies at the centre of territory Iraq's Kurds want to incorporate into their autonomous region over the objections of Baghdad 10/98 Iraq Iraqi Kurdish forces take position near Taza Khormato AFP/Getty Images 11/98 Iraq Kurdistan regional government president Massud Barzani greets US Secretary of State John Kerry at the presidential palace in Arbil Getty Images 12/98 Iraq Iraqi men queue to for a medical check up as they volunteer to join the security forces at a recruitment centre in Baghdad Getty Images 13/98 Iraq Kurdish fighters believe they are ‘facing a new reality and a new Iraq’ AP 14/98 Iraq Militants of the Isis group stand next to captured vehicles left behind by Iraqi security forces at an unknown location in the Salaheddin province. For militant groups, the fight over public perception can be even more important than actual combat, turning military losses into propaganda victories and battlefield successes into powerful tools to build support for the cause 15/98 Iraq A member of the Kurdish security forces takes up position with his weapon while guarding an oil refinery, on the outskirts of Mosul 16/98 Iraq Iraqi Turkmen stand with their weapons as they ready to fight against militants led by the jihadist, in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk 17/98 Iraq Volunteers of the newly formed "Peace Brigades" participate in a parade in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, Baghdad. Thousands of Shiite militiamen have paraded in Baghdad and several other cities in southern Iraq with heavy weaponry, signaling their readiness to take on Sunni militants who control a large chunk of the country's north 18/98 Iraq Iraqi security forces, loyal to Muslim Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr take part in a military parade in the shrine city of Najaf, in central Iraq. International leaders and Iraq's Shiite religious elite have called on the country to unite to face off the insurgent threat, with US Secretary of State John Kerry this weekend heading to the Middle East and Europe in a diplomatic push to bring political stability to the country 19/98 Iraq Iraqi Shiite mourners carry the coffin of a Shiite militiaman killed in Muqdadiyah during his funeral procession, in the shrine city of Najaf. Militants attacked the town of Muqdadiyah, northeast of Baghdad and a key approach to Diyala provincial capital Baquba, sparking clashes that killed 30 Shiite militiamen 20/98 Iraq An Islamist fighter, identified as Abu Muthanna al-Yemeni from Britain (R), speaks in this still image taken undated video shot at an unknown location and uploaded to a social media website. Five Islamist fighters identified as Australian and British nationals have called on Muslims to join the wars in Syria and Iraq, in the new video released by the Isis 21/98 Iraq Al-Qa’ida inspired militants stand with captured Iraqi Army Humvee at a checkpoint belonging to Iraqi Army outside Beiji refinery some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad. The fighting at Beiji comes as Iraq has asked the U.S. for airstrikes targeting the militants from the Isis group. While U.S. President Barack Obama has not fully ruled out the possibility of launching airstrikes, such action is not imminent in part because intelligence agencies have been unable to identify clear targets on the ground, officials said 22/98 Iraq Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces take their positions during clashes with the Isis group in the city of Ramadi 23/98 Iraq Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces shoot during the clashes with the Isis gruop in the city of Ramadi 24/98 Iraq A Peshmerga unit is ready and armed on the front lines outside Kirkuk 25/98 Iraq A U.S. Geological Survey satellite image shows smoke rising from the Baiji refinery near Tikrit 26/98 Iraq A column of smoke rises from an oil refinery in Beiji, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad 27/98 Iraq Iraqi men line up at the main army recruiting center to volunteer for military service in Baghdad, after authorities urged Iraqis to help battle insurgents 28/98 Iraq Iraqi Shiite women hold their weapons as they gather to show their willingness to join Iraqi security forces in the fight against Jihadist militants who have taken over several northern Iraqi cities in the southern Shiite Muslim shrine city of Najaf 29/98 Iraq Kurdish Peshmerga fighters stand next to the bed of a comrade wounded in clashes with jihadists in Kirkuk at the emergency ward of a hospital in Arbil 30/98 Iraq A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter wounded in the legs in clashes with Isis in Kirkuk is watched by a family member as he lies on a bed in the emergency ward of a hospital in Arbil 31/98 Iraq Relatives stand vigil for a Kurdish peshmerga fighter wounded in fighting as he is treated in a hospital in Irbil. Kurdish security and hospital officials said that fighting has been raging since morning between Kurdish fighters known as peshmerga and militants who are trying to take the town of Jalula, in the restive Diyala province some 80 miles (125 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad. Ethnic Kurds now control the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk, moving to fill a vacuum after the flight of Iraqi soldiers. They too are battling the Sunni extremist militants 32/98 Iraq Militants attacked Iraq's main oil refinein Baiji as they pressed an offensive that has seen them capture swathes of territory, a manager and a refinery employee said 33/98 Iraq Militants from the Isis group parading with their weapons in the northern city of Baiji in the in Salaheddin province 34/98 Iraq A smoke rises after an attack by Isis militants on the country's largest oil refinery in Beiji, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad. Iraqi security forces battled insurgents targeting the country's main oil refinery and said they regained partial control of a city near the Syrian border, trying to blunt an offensive by Sunni militants who diplomats fear may have also seized some 100 foreign workers 35/98 Iraq Major General Jamil al-Shammari (C), police chief of Iraq's Diyala province north of Baghdad, inspects the Mafraq police station which includes a prison where the bodies of 44 prisoners were found. An attack by militants was pushed back by Iraqi security forces in Baquba, Diyala's provincial capital within only 60 kilometres (37 miles) of Baghdad, leaving 44 prisoners dead at the Mafraq police station. Accounts differed as to who was responsible for the prisoner killings, with the security spokesman of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki saying the prisoners were killed by insurgents carrying out the attack, and other officials saying they were killed by security forces as they tried to escape 36/98 Iraq Iraqi men mourn over the coffin of an Iraqi soldier who was killed in the clashes with militants in northern Iraq, during the funeral procession in Najaf. More than two million Iraqis have volunteered to fight against militants from the Isis group, Iraqi Energy Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said. The government had no capacity to process any more volunteers, he adds. Isis and other Sunni fighters, including groups linked to the former ruling Baath Party, were reported that they now control swathes of northern Iraq after a lightning advance recently 37/98 Iraq Iraqi displaced people, who have fled violence in Iraq's northern Nineveh province, walk past the wreckage of military vehicles upon their arrival in al-Hamdaniyah, 76 kms west of the Kurdish autonomous region's capital Arbil 38/98 Iraq Demonstrators chant slogans as they carry al-Qa’ida flags in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad. In the week since it captured Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, a Muslim extremist group has tried to win over residents and has stopped short of widely enforcing its strict brand of Islamic law, residents say. Churches remain unharmed and street cleaners are back at work 39/98 Iraq Personnel from the Kurdish security forces detain a man suspected of being a militant belonging to the Isis group, in the outskirts of Kirkuk 40/98 Iraq Iraqi women walk at the site of a car bomb explosion in the mainly Shiite Sadr City district in Baghdad, which killed at least seven people and wounded 20. The blast came amid a week-long militant offensive in which insurgents have seized vast swathes of territory in northern Iraq 41/98 Iraq A member of the oil police force stands guard at Zubair oil field in Basra Reuters 42/98 Iraq An Iraqi man with a boy inspects the scene of a car bomb attack in Sadr city EPA 43/98 Iraq Iraqi Shiite tribesmen parade with their weapons in central Baghdad's Palestine Street as they show their willingness to join Iraqi security forces in the fight against Jihadist militants who have taken over several northern Iraqi cities. Faced with a militant offensive sweeping south toward Baghdad, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced the Iraqi government would arm and equip civilians who volunteer to fight, and thousands have signed up 44/98 Iraq Iraqi men queue at the entrance of a volunteer centre in Karbala city EPA 45/98 Iraq Members of the Shiite Muslim Mehdi Army militia, take part in training in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Iraqi Shiite volunteers, who had been fighting in neighbouring Syria, have been heading home to battle an offensive that has brought militants to near Baghdad, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 46/98 Iraq An injured fighter (C) from the Isis group after a battle with Iraqi soldiers at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq 47/98 Iraq Fighters from the Isis aiming at advancing Iraqi troops at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq 48/98 Iraq Fighters from the Isis group taking position at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq 49/98 Iraq Fighters from the Isis group inspecting vehicles of the Iraqi army after they were seized at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq 50/98 Iraq Iraqi men flash victory signs as they leave the main recruiting center to join the Iraqi army in Baghdad AP 51/98 Iraq Refugees queue to register at a temporary camp in northern Iraq Getty Images 52/98 Iraq Newly-recruited Iraqi volunteers, wearing police forces uniforms, take part in a briefing at a training centre in Karbala Getty Images 53/98 Iraq Kurdish peshmerga forces keep guard around Tal Afar of Mosul Getty Images 54/98 Iraq One Iraqi captive, a corporal, is reluctant to say the slogan, and has to be shouted at repeatedly before he obeys Sky News 55/98 Iraq Iraqi captives held by the extremists Sky News 56/98 Iraq Iraqi captives held by the extremists Sky News 57/98 Iraq Shiite tribal fighters raise their weapons and chant slogans against the Isis group in the northwest Baghdad's Shula neighborhood 58/98 Iraq Tribal fighters carry their weapons as they take part in an intensive security deployment in Dujail, north of Baghdad 59/98 Iraq Iraqi soldiers watch as armed tribesmen gather to show their willingness to join Iraqi security forces in the fight against Jihadist militants who have taken over several northern Iraqi cities in the southern city of Basra 60/98 Iraq Shiite tribal fighters raise their weapons and chant slogans against the Isis group in the northwest Baghdad's Shula neighborhood 61/98 Iraq Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr march during a military-style training in the holy city of Najaf. The United States said it could launch air strikes and act jointly with its arch-enemy Iran to support the Iraqi government, after a rampage by Sunni Islamist insurgents across Iraq that has scrambled alliances in the Middle East 62/98 Iraq Volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi Army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Isis group, gather with their weapons during a parade on the streets in Basra, southeast of Baghdad 63/98 Iraq An Iraqi young boy holds a weapon from the window of a car as people gather to show their readiness to join Iraqi security forces in the fight against Jihadist militants who have taken over several northern Iraqi cities in the capital Baghdad 64/98 Iraq Tribal fighters from Ramadi hold up their weapons as they shout slogans in support of Iraqi security forces in Kerbala 65/98 Iraq Iraqi security forces fire artillery during clashes with Sunni militant group Isis in Jurf al-Sakhar 66/98 Iraq Iraqi security forces fire artillery during clashes with Sunni militant group Isis in Jurf al-Sakhar 67/98 Iraq Ammar al-Hakim, leader of Iraq's largest Shiite party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, exercises a shooting drill in the main army recruiting center in Baghdad. Thousands of Shiites from Baghdad and across southern Iraq answered an urgent call to arms, joining security forces to fight the Islamic militants who have captured large swaths of territory north of the capital and now imperil a city with a much-revered religious shrine 68/98 Iraq An Iraqi security officer stands guard outside the Church of the Virgin Mary in the northern town of Bartala, east of the northern city of Mosul as some Iraqi security stayed in the town to protect the local churches and community 69/98 Iraq The insurgent offensive that has threatened to dismember Iraq spread to the northwest of the country, when Sunni militants launched a dawn raid on a town close to the Syrian border, clashing with police and government forces 70/98 Iraq Volunteers walk with their weapons during a parade in the streets in Al-Fdhiliya district, eastern Baghdad 71/98 Iraq A volunteer, who has joined the Iraqi Army to fight against predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Isis group, holds a weapon during a parade in the streets in Al-Fdhiliya district, eastern Baghdad 72/98 Iraq Militants of the Isis group force captured Iraqi security forces members to the transport 73/98 Iraq Militants of the Isis group transporting dozens of captured Iraqi security forces members to an unknown location in the Salaheddin province ahead of executing them 74/98 Iraq A major offensive spearheaded by Isis but also involving supporters of executed dictator Saddam Hussein has overrun all of one province and chunks of three others 75/98 Iraq Militants of the Isis group executing dozens of captured Iraqi security forces members at an unknown location in the Salaheddin province 76/98 Iraq A women and a girl wash at a tap at a temporary displacement camp set up next to a Kurdish checkpoint in Kalak. Thousands of people have fled Iraq's second city of Mosul after it was overrun by Isis (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) militants. Many have been temporarily housed at various IDP (internally displaced persons) camps around the region including the area close to Erbil, as they hope to enter the safety of the nearby Kurdish region 77/98 Iraq Families arrive at a Kurdish checkpoint next to a temporary displacement camp in Kalak 78/98 Iraq An Iraqi refugee girl from Mosul stands outside her family's tent at Khazir refugee camp outside Irbil, 217 miles (350 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq. Days after Iraq's second-largest city fell to Isis fighters, some Iraqis are already returning to Mosul, lured back by insurgents offering cheap gas and food, restoring power and water and removing traffic barricades 79/98 Iraq Civilians escape from Mosul and come to a region that close to Erbil city and are placed to camp by United Nations and Kurd government in Iraq 80/98 Iraq Young men in Baghdad chant slogans against Isis outside the main army recruiting centre yesterday, where they are volunteering to fight the extremist group Karin Kadim/AP 81/98 Iraq Volunteers who have joined the Iraqi Army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants, who have taken over Mosul and other Northern provinces, board an army truck in Baghdad 82/98 Iraq Isis militants taking position at a Iraqi border post on the Syrian-Iraqi border between the Iraqi Nineveh province and the Syrian town of Al-Hasakah 83/98 Iraq Isis rebels show their flag after seizing an army post AFP/Getty Images 84/98 Iraq Isis militants waving an Islamist flag after the seizure of an Iraqi army checkpoint in Salahuddin Getty Images 85/98 Iraq A girl, who fled from the violence in Mosul, carries a case of water at a camp on the outskirts of Arbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region 86/98 Iraq A displaced Iraqi woman washes her family's laundry as the children shower outside their tent at a temporary camp set up to shelter civilians fleeing violence in Iraq's northern Nineveh province in Aski kalak, 40 kms west of the Kurdish autonomous region's capital Arbil 87/98 Iraq Iraqi refugees from Mosul arrive at Khazir refugee camp outside Irbil, 217 miles (350 kilometers) north of Baghdad AP 88/98 Iraq Refugees flee Mosul AP 89/98 Iraq Iraqi families fleeing violence in the northern Nineveh province gather at a Kurdish checkpoint in Aski kalak, 40 kms West of Arbil, in the autonomous Kurdistan region 90/98 Iraq Refugees fleeing from Mosul head to the self-ruled northern Kurdish region in Irbil, Iraq, 350 kilometers (217 miles) north of Baghdad AP 91/98 Iraq An Iraqi woman carries her property while fleeing from Mosul to Arbil and Duhok due to the clashes between security forces and militants of Isis in Arbil 92/98 Iraq Iraqi people receive water as they flee from Mosul to Arbil and Duhok 93/98 Iraq A woman carries a child as families fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Mosul wait at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region. Radical Sunni Muslim insurgents seized control of most of Iraq's second largest city of Mosul, overrunning a military base and freeing hundreds of prisoners in a spectacular strike against the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government 94/98 Iraq An Iraqi man and his wife flee from Mosul to Arbil and Duhok 95/98 Iraq The residents gather at a security checkpoint between the provinces of Irbil and Duhok which is controlled by Kurdish Peshmerga troops 96/98 Iraq Uniforms reportedly belonging to Iraqi security forces scattered on the road AFP 97/98 Iraq An armoured vehicle belonging to Iraqi security forces in flames, after hundreds of militants from the Isis group launched a major assault on the security forces in Mosul, some 370 km north from the Iraqi capital Baghdad 98/98 Iraq Civilian children stand next to a burnt vehicle during clashes between Iraqi security forces and Isis group in the northern Iraq city of Mosul

Mr Maliki does not see it that way and has rejected calls for his departure as dictated by outside powers, but Iraqi politicians who have always opposed him now think they can bring him down. By 30 June at the latest the Iraqi parliament must meet to choose a new speaker, president and prime minister. It appears that Mr Maliki, despite having done well in the 30 April parliamentary election, does not have the votes to survive.

As a second line of defence, he will try to ensure that somebody from within his own State of Law coalition and close to him, like his former chief of staff Tariq Najim, takes over. He would try to remain a power in the background and at worst to shield his family – and his rule has become very much that of his extended family – from prosecution, much as Boris Yeltsin cut a deal when Vladimir Putin took over as Russian leader in 1999.

These manoeuvres seem petty and wholly self-serving when Isis fighters are less than an hour’s drive from Baghdad. The capital itself could erupt at any moment when Isis decides to activate its cells in the Sunni enclaves. In the last few days, military sources say they discovered such an Isis cell in the largely Shia area of Karada purporting to be a charitable organisation, but in practice under the control of a former general from Saddam’s time, that was monitoring the city’s defences.

The danger of Baghdad falling makes it damaging to bargain at any length about the future leadership of Iraq. “People might accept Tariq Najim because they are so desperate to get Maliki out,” said one observer. Other candidates like Iyad Allawi, Ahmed Chalabi and several others all have supporters but prolonged wrangling would make it difficult to re-energise and re-organise the army.

There is another player in the struggle over the Iraqi leadership whose views may be decisive. This is Iran and Mr Maliki in recent years has been very much Iran’s man. It was the Iranians who were finally responsible for him staying in power after the 2010 election. Iraqi politicians familiar with the Iranian leadership say that it is uncertain what to do and, at least until recently, Iran’s supreme spiritual leader, Ali Khamenei, has wanted to maintain support for Mr Maliki. It may be the Iranians want to exact a price from the US for abandoning him, but the Iranians will not want Baghdad to fall or to have to send Iranian troops to prevent this happening.

A problem in the present crisis is that Iraqi political leaders may be relying too much on the US or Iran to bail them out. “They like to believe that the Americans have a magic wand and the Iranians will always stick with them regardless,” says Ghassan al-Attiyah, Iraqi political scientist and activist. “The Americans may be willing to fight Isis but they do not want to be dragged into a sectarian war against the Sunni.”

Like Macbeth in his last days, Mr Maliki stands at bay as his enemies corner him at last and his former friends desert him. He is said to be angry with the Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari for not defending the government against accusations of sectarianism by Saudi Arabia at a meeting of foreign ministers this week. “But how could Zebari have defended Maliki?” asked an observer in Baghdad. “No defence is possible.”