The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has continued to gain ground in northern Iraq despite weeks of US-led air strikes, and are now moving closer to the Iraq-Kurdish city of Erbil.
ISIL fighters are battling Kurdish volunteer troops in the town of al-Kuwayr, about 60km southwest of Erbil.
However, national security expert Douglas Ollivant, of the New America Foundation, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that for now there was no immediate threat of ISIL closing in on Erbil.
Ollivant said that it is likely that the armed group will concentrate on al-Kuwayr, as they face a stronger resistance from Kurdish fighters and US-led air power should they make their way further into Kurdish areas.
"There are significant defences between these towns and Erbil," he said. "Erbil and Baghdad are still safe at this point."
In the neigbouring province of Nineveh, Provincial Governor Atheel al-Nujaifi told Al Jazeera that he is co-ordinating with the Iraqi defence ministry to set up a force to liberate Mosul from ISIL.
"It is the time to start work on the exact plan to liberate Mosul," Nujaifi said, as he appealed for more weapons and resources to fight the armed group.
"It's a miserable situation now in Mosul," he said. "There's no electricity, no water and no healthcare."
Read more:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/11/isil-fighters-make-gains-northern-iraq-2014114163756991143.html
