The leader of the Islamic State, formerly Isis, has released the first audiotape calling for jihad since the group renamed. The group is currently battling Iraqi forces across large parts of the country.
Americans are being evacuated from an airbase near Baghdad to escape the incursion from Islamist group ISIS.
Officials said three planes were set to leave Balad airfield in Sunni Muslim territory north of Baghdad, with ISIS militants sweeping south after capturing the city of Mosul yesterday.
Those being evacuated including 12 US service personnel and several hundred contractors, the Associated Press reports.
The Foreign Secretary has been clear on the threat of Isis, but he has ruled out the prospect of any UK military involvement in the crisis.
Iraq’s foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, is a natural diplomat. Polite, immaculately dressed, and blessed with a great memory.
Isis has paraded military equipment in Mosul it captured from when the Iraqi army fled in what some see as a "nightmare scenario."