Jun 11, 2014

As soon as dozens of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) fighters spread in Mosul’s streets, thousands of Iraqi soldiers and policemen withdrew from the city without resistance, leaving behind their weapons, equipment and vehicles, while displaced persons started knocking on doors in search of a safe place.

ISIS wasn’t satisfied by just controlling Mosul; it also controlled all of Ninevah province and eliminated the border between Iraq and Syria at the al-Yaarabiya crossing.

But Mosul’s stature and population (Iraq's second-largest city after Baghdad) make it difficult for ISIS to manage for long. So, ISIS tried to reassure the population and declared its desire to open a dialogue with clerics, city notables and tribal leaders.

Baghdad seemed in a state of shock after receiving news that its army in Mosul had collapsed and that top commanders fled. That shock wasn’t alleviated by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declaring a general mobilization and him calling on parliament to declare a state of emergency, which is difficult to implement because it would need the support of two-thirds of parliament. Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi called parliament for a special session Thursday [June 12].

Yesterday afternoon [June 10], Al-Hayat obtain information from inside Mosul confirming that a number of clerics, notables and tribal leaders in the city have been invited to meet with ISIS leaders. ISIS also contacted former army members asking them for their “allegiance” to the Islamic state, as the organization had done elsewhere in Syria and Iraq. But tribal figures discounted that and suggested that the organization may try to involve the people in administering the city to prove that what is happening is a “popular revolution” and to give ISIS a chance to use its fighters in new operations.