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‘We are in shock’: Baghdad ‘empty’ as Iraqi capital prepares for jihadist siege
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/06/12/we-are-in-shock-baghdad-empty-as-iraqi-capital-prepares-for-jihadist-siege/
‘We are in shock’: Baghdad ‘empty’ as Iraqi capital prepares for jihadist siege
By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, June 12, 2014 11:28 EDT
The usually bustling streets of Baghdad were quiet on Thursday and business almost at a halt as stunned residents feared the imminent arrival in the capital of bands of Islamist militants.
“Baghdad has been empty for two days,” said Zaid Andulwahab, 33, sitting in a deserted restaurant in the centre of Baghdad.
“The gunmen are only 90 kilometres away from the capital. This means … they might storm it all of a sudden,” he said.
Jihadists spearheaded by fighters from the Sunni Muslim Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) earlier Thursday seized the town of Dhuluiyah, 90 kilometres (56 miles) north of Baghdad, and the nearby Muatassam area.
