The Iraqi army is struggling to stop the advance of the Sunni militant group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL.)

On Monday, the two sides exchanged gunfire in Baqouba, less than 40 miles from Baghdad.Video footage appeared to show the army having seized a number of weapons after militants retreated.

The airport in the northern town of Tal Afar has also fallen to the rebels and there are reports the town itself has fallen. Tal Afar is strategically important as the army had hoped to use it as a base to recapture the city of Mosul.

Meanwhile in Mosul militants were filmed handing out copies of the Koran to drivers and passers-by.

.