Video: The Spread of the Caliphate: The Islamic State (IS)
VICE News reporter Medyan Dairieh spent three weeks embedded with the IS, gaining unprecedented access to the group in Iraq and Syria as the first and only journalist to document its inner workings.
Below is part one. Dairieh heads to the frontline in Raqqa in northern Syria, where IS militants are laying siege to the Syrian Army’s division 17 base.
Displaced Iraqis
Maliki Orders Iraqi Forces To Stay Out Of Political Crisis
In a statement on his website, Maliki ordered Iraq's security forces to stay out of a "political crisis" over who will form the next government, amid fears they could intervene.
He urged security personnel "to stay away from the political crisis and continue in their security and military duties to defend the country."
EU Help
The European Union has said it is granting Iraq a further $6.7 million dollars in aid, bringing the total to 17 million euros this year.
EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said, “The new funding is to help hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Iraqis, including minority groups, that have been besieged in the mountains of Sinjar."
In addition, she said the EU could help finance humanitarian aid deliveries, should Iraq or the United Nations ask the bloc to trigger its disaster-response system, the Civil Protection Mechanism.
Abadi offers olive branch to Maliki
Abadi said on his Facebook page today that al-Maliki "will remain a fundamental partner in the political process."
Abadi also paid tribute to Maliki's "role in confronting terrorism."
In another post, al-Abadi called for an "open-minded" approach to developing a "shared national vision to overcome the crisis," and praised the role played by the country's Shiite hierarchy.
Abadi called on security forces, volunteers and tribesmen to "continue the defense against the IS organization."
He also hinted that he might not be any more open than Maliki to the demands of the autonomous Kurdistan region. "Preserving Iraq's unity and security are the greatest challenges at the moment."
'Impossible' With Maliki
The Washington post interviewed Hayder al-Khoei, an Iraq expert and associate fellow at Chatham House in London:
Khoei says that Abadi has a reputation for skilled diplomacy, and has a much better chance of forming a national-unity government than his predecessor. "Without Maliki it isn't going to be easy," Khoei explains, "[But] with Maliki it will be impossible."
You can read the full story here.