DIYALA, Iraq
Militants seized a major Iraqi Army base in the eastern province of Diyala on Monday, torching vehicles and equipment.
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters captured the headquarters after Iraqi troops abandoned their positions, a security source told Anadolu Agency.
The source added: "ISIL rebels burned all the vehicles and equipment left behind by the soldiers in the headquarters. No casualties in the ranks of the army were reported."
It was not possible to get immediate confirmation of the report.
Armed Sunni Muslim groups, led by ISIL militants, have gained control of most of the north of Diyala province, to the north east of Baghdad, and the town of Saadia. Kurdish Peshmerga forces control Jalula and other Kurdish villages surrounding it.
ISIL militants, backed by tribal fighters, seized Iraq's second-largest city Mosul on June 10 and have captured a number of other towns in the north including Tikrit and Tal Afar. They also control Al Qaim, Rawah, Anah, Al Ratba and Haditha in the western province of Al Anbar.
ISIL forces also spread along Iraq’s Syrian and Jordanian border on Monday after taking control of border crossings, according to Farhan Ftikhan, the mayor of Al Qaim.
Ftikhan said: "ISIL militants control all border crossings to Syria and Jordan, including Al Qaim and Al Walid, bordering Syria, and Trebil with Jordan." He claimed the fighters were digging defensive trenches along the border and accused ISIL of taking money from a bank in Al Walid.
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