Iraq's PM criticized after losing city to militants

Leadership abilities of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, are being put to question after Sunni militants have taken over the country's second biggest city, Mosul, on Tuesday.

After the army forces in the city fled their outposts, leaving locals at the mercy of the militant group, al-Maliki declared a state of emergency, calling for a 'general mobilisation' of civilians to fight the militants.

However, as many as 150,000 locals have also fled the city alongside the police and military troops, as hundreds of jihadists were storming the city.

Later in the day, al-Maliki declared that there had been a total collapse of the country's armed forces.

Sunni militants taking control of Mosul but also gaining more ground across Iraq represents a failure of the Iraq government and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

The US have harshly criticized Iraq's inability to fight back the militants after it had been supplying the armed forces with weaponry since the US pulled out of Iraq in 2011.