In Kirkuk, tanks and military gear reportedly abandoned by Iraqi soldiers as Islamist militants moved into the area.<br /> <br />Reuters cannot independently verify the content of this video which was uploaded to a social media website. The brigade's headquarters have been ransacked and the base has the look of a ghost town.<br /> <br />It's in stark contrast to the scene outside a Kerbala recruiting office --- where more than a thousand government loyalists turned out to say they're ready to fight.<br /> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNNAMED RECRUIT, SAYING:<br /> <br />"We have volunteered to serve our country and defeat the criminal ISIL fighters who harbor malice towards our country. We will go to Mosul, God willing, to fight and defeat them."<br /> <br />Militants from the group, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, who made serious gains overnight in Diyala province --- are believed to be moving toward Baghdad.<br /> <br />On Friday, the typically jammed streets of the nation's capital city were almost empty as
