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People waiting to have their documents examined by Kurdish authorities spoke of their bewilderment at how Iraq’s army turned and ran last week, rather than defend the country’s second-largest city from the Sunni extremists racing down the road from neighbouring Syria.

“We never expected that. We all thought that they could control the situation in a few days,” said Mr. Saed, who is a Sunni moderate.

“There were a really huge number of soldiers there, but they couldn’t do anything. They just left their bases and ran away.”

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About 100 metres away were the charred remains of U.S.-built Humvees and other military vehicles that had been towed to the Kurdish region to be sold for scrap after being abandoned by government forces in Mosul.

Yunis Hassan, another refugee, said residents were “shocked” by the behaviour of the Iraqi army. “They just disappeared. ISIS is controlling the area. It is hard to see the army there again soon.”

The baker, who was with his veiled wife and three children, said they had made the journey because they feared airstrikes “and this was the safest place we could go.”

In something of an understatement, Mr. Saed added, “The situation in Mosul is a bit unclear [because] there is no government there. People are afraid now and for the future.”

It was possible, he said, there could be “a dangerous military action” by the government.

Such a counter-punch has been promised for days now by Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister.