Iraq and the Levant

About 275 U.S. military personnel are being deployed to Iraq to help American personnel and protect the embassy in Baghdad, President Barack Obama said June 16 in a letter to Congressional leaders.

The force, which began deploying on June 14, has been sent "for the purpose of protecting U.S. citizens and property, if necessary, and is equipped for combat," Obama wrote.

Two lawmakers from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) have accused the government of protecting and cooperating with jihadist militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the al-Nusra Front, while the Turkish government quickly denied the claim.

Iraqi Kurds seized control of the northern oil city of Kirkuk on June 12, while surging Sunni Islamist rebels advanced towards Baghdad, as the central government's army abandoned its posts in a rapid collapse that has lost it control of the north.

The 49 members of Turkey’s Mosul Consulate, who were taken hostage by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are in good health, an Iraqi colleague told daily Hürriyet on June 12.

One of the 32 Turkish truck drivers taken hostage by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in northern Iraq on June 10 has told daily Hürriyet that they expect to be released soon.