Iraqi forces say they have repelled Islamic State militants from a district 90 kilometres north of Baghdad. But the apparent victory in Diyala province has done little to quell the Sunni-led offensive.<br /><br />Insurgents are boasting of more gains in the north of the country. They say they are now in control of 15 towns, Iraq’s biggest dam and a military base.<br /><br />Thousands of people have also fled the country’s largest Christian town – Qaraqosh – after it was seized.<br /><br />In the strategic oil area of Kirkuk, at least 11 people are reported dead after two car bombs exploded near a mosque.<br /><br />The building was being used to shelter Shiite refugees who had fled violence in their hometown of Tal Afar. <br /><br />Meanwhile, in Baghdad, another car bomb has killed more than a dozen people. <br /><br />France is now calling on the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting over the crisis, which poses the biggest threat to Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
