A Mahdi Army fighter stands guards in front of a Shiite mosque as prayers leave after they attend their Friday prayer in the northern oil rich province of Kirkuk, Iraq, Friday June 20, 2014. Thousands of people fled the town of Taza Khormato fearing the advance of Sunni insurgents who overran the neighboring village of Kirkuk. Taza Khormato residents said insurgents led by the al-Qaida inspired Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant seized the nearby village of Basheer, shelling and burning down the houses. Both communities are dominated by ethnic Turkmen Shiites who are seen as heretics worthy of death by Sunni extremists. (AP Photo / Hussein Malla)

A Mehdi Army fighter loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr participates in a military-style training in Najaf June 20, 2014. Iraqi forces were massing north of Baghdad on Friday, aiming to strike back at Sunni Islamists whose drive toward the capital prompted the United States to send military advisers to stiffen government resistance. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr march during a military-style training in Najaf June 20, 2014. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

Members of the Iraqi security forces who have never left their positions patrol in the Bansher district, 15 kilometers south of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, Iraq, Friday, June 20, 2014. Iraqi army and police forces battling them for months have been unable to take most areas back, and over the past week or so the militants have also taken over the cities of Mosul and Tikrit. (AP Photo/Emad Matti)

Iraqi Shiite Turkmen gunmen shout religious slogans, as they prepare to patrol around their front line village of Taza Khormato, in the northern oil rich province of Kirkuk, Iraq, Friday June 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A Kurdish peshmerga sniper takes his position behind sand barriers at the front line village of Taza Khormato, in the northern oil rich province of Kirkuk, Iraq, Friday June 20, 2014. Taza Khormato residents said insurgents led by the al-Qaida inspired Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant seized the nearby village of Basheer, shelling and burning down the houses. Both communities are dominated by ethnic Turkmen Shiites who are seen as heretics worthy of death by Sunni extremists. Thousands of people fled the town of Taza Khormato fearing the advance of Sunni insurgents who overran the neighboring village of Kirkuk. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Kurdish peshmerga fighters takes their positions behind sand barriers at the front line village of Taza Khormato in the northern oil rich province of Kirkuk, Iraq, Friday, June 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr take part in a parade in Kerbala, June 21, 2014. Iraq's senior Shi'ite religious cleric Moqtada al-Sadr issued a call for unity, saying Shi'ites and Sunnis should rally behind the authorities to prevent the Sunni militant Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from destroying the country. REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr take part in a parade in Kirkuk, June 21, 2014. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr march during a parade in Basra, southeast of Baghdad, June 21, 2014. REUTERS/ Essam Al-Sudani

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr march during a parade in Kerbala, June 21, 2014. Iraq's senior Shi'ite religious cleric Moqtada al-Sadr issued a call for unity, saying Shi'ites and Sunnis should rally behind the authorities to prevent the Sunni militant Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from destroying the country. REUTERS/ Mushtaq Muhammed

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr take part during a parade in Basra, southeast of Baghdad, June 21, 2014. REUTERS/ Essam Al-Sudani

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr burn a U.S. flag during a parade in Baghdad's Sadr city, June 21, 2014. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr take part in a parade in Baghdad's Sadr city June 21, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr take part during a parade in Baghdad's Sadr city June 21, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

A member from the Mehdi Army stands guard during a parade in Baghdad's Sadr city June 21, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

Volunteers in the newly formed "Peace Brigades" raise their weapons during a parade in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 21, 2014. The armed group was formed after radical Shiite cleric Muqtatda al-Sadr called to form brigades to protect Shiite holy shrines against possible attacks by Sunni militants. Iraqi security officials said Saturday that Sunni militants have seized a Syrian border crossing after killing some 30 Iraqi troops in a day of clashes. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Volunteers of the newly formed "Peace Brigades" raise their weapons and chant slogans against the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant during a parade in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Saturday, June 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

A volunteer in the newly formed "Peace Brigades" trains near the Imam Ali shrine in the southern holy Shiite city of Najaf, Iraq, Friday, June 20, 2014, after calls by the radical Shiite cleric Muqtatda al-Sadr to form brigades to protect Shiite holy shrines against possible attacks by Sunni militants. (AP Photo/Jaber al-Helo)

Volunteers of the newly formed "Peace Brigades" participate in a parade in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Nabil Al-Jurani)

A volunteer in the newly formed "Peace Brigades" participate in a parade near the Imam Ali shrine in the southern holy Shiite city of Najaf, Iraq, Friday, June 20, 2014, after calls by the radical Shiite cleric Muqtatda al-Sadr to form brigades to protect Shiite holy shrines against possible attacks by Sunni militants. (AP Photo/Jaber al-Helo)

An Iraqi Shiite Turkmen gunman holds his RPG as he stands in front of a portrait of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, at the front line village of Taza Khormato, in the northern oil rich province of Kirkuk, Iraq, Friday June 20, 2014. Thousands of people fled the town of Taza Khormato fearing the advance of Sunni insurgents who overran the neighboring village of Kirkuk. Taza Khormato residents said insurgents led by the al-Qaida inspired Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant seized the nearby village of Basheer, shelling and burning down the houses. Both communities are dominated by ethnic Turkmen Shiites who are seen as heretics worthy of death by Sunni extremists. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A top leader of the Mehdi Army using the nom de guerre Abu Deraa © stands during a parade in Baghdad's Sadr city, June 21, 2014. Iraq's senior Shi'ite religious cleric Moqtada al-Sadr issued a call for unity, saying Shi'ites and Sunnis should rally behind the authorities to prevent the Sunni militant Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from destroying the country. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili

An Iraqi Shiite masked militiaman speaks on his radio during a parade in the northern oil rich province of Kirkuk, Iraq, Saturday, June 21, 2014. Thousands of heavily-armed Shiite militiamen paraded through several Iraqi cities on Saturday as Sunni militants seized two strategically located towns in what appeared to be a new offensive in the western Anbar province. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

An armed Shiite militiaman, center, directs citizens during a parade by the followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, as they shout anti-ISIL slogans during a parade in the northern oil rich province of Kirkuk, Iraq, Saturday June 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

An Iraqi policeman, right, stands guard as armed Shiite militiamen, followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, parade in the northern oil rich province of Kirkuk, Iraq, Saturday, June 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr take part during a parade in Baghdad's Sadr city, June 21, 2014. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili

An Iraqi Shiite militiaman, a follower of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, jumps to break a placard with the name of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during a parade, in the northern oil rich province of Kirkuk, Iraq, Saturday, June 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr march during a parade in Baghdad's Sadr city, June 21, 2014. Iraq's senior Shi'ite religious cleric Moqtada al-Sadr issued a call for unity, saying Shi'ites and Sunnis should rally behind the authorities to prevent the Sunni militant Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from destroying the country. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili

Armed Shiite militiamen, followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, parade in the northern oil rich province of Kirkuk, Iraq, Saturday, June 21, 2014. Thousands of heavily-armed Shiite militiamen paraded through several Iraqi cities on Saturday, as Sunni militants seized two strategically located towns in what appeared to be a new offensive in the western Anbar province. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

An armed Shiite militiamen, right, stands next to supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, as they shout slogans against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant during a parade in the northern oil rich province of Kirkuk, Iraq, Saturday, June 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

An Iraqi policeman, left, walks in front of Shiite militiamen, followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, joining a parade in the northern oil rich province of Kirkuk, Iraq, Saturday, June 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

An Iraqi Shiite masked militiaman, a follower of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, holds up his machine gun during a parade in the northern oil rich province of Kirkuk, Iraq, Saturday, June 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Volunteers in the newly formed "Peace Brigades" raise their weapons and chant slogans against the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant during a parade in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 21, 2014. The armed group was formed after radical Shiite cleric Muqtatda al-Sadr called to form brigades to protect Shiite holy shrines against possible attacks by Sunni militants. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces take their positions during a patrol looking for militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and explosives and weapons, in a neighbourhood in Ramadi, June 10, 2014. Sunni fighters seized a border post on the Iraq-Syria frontier, security sources said on Saturday, June 21, 2014, smashing a line drawn by colonial powers almost a century ago with the aim of creating an Islamic Caliphate stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to Iran. The militants, led by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), first moved into the nearby town of al-Qaim on Friday, pushing out security forces, the sources said. Picture taken June 10, 2014.

Sehr eindrucksvoll wie der eine Typ da ne Styroporplatte zertritt

Dafür nutzen die Russen echten Stein und echte Holzbretter für die Vorführungen

Dafür nutzen die Russen echten Stein und echte Holzbretter für die Vorführungen

Personnel from the Kurdish security forces detain a man suspected of being a militant belonging to the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the outskirts of Kirkuk June 16, 2014. Iraq's Shi'ite rulers defied Western calls on Tuesday to reach out to Sunnis to defuse the uprising in the north of the country, declaring a boycott of Iraq's main Sunni political bloc and accusing Sunni power Saudi Arabia of promoting “genocide”. (Photo by Ako Rasheed/Reuters)

The crisis in Iraq: Thousands train to fight against militant Islamic State in Iraq and Syria
With the Iraqi military facing a huge crisis, tens of thousands of Iraqis answered the government's call for volunteers to fight the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Newly-recruited volunteers are undergoing military training in various parts of the country.

The Big Picture

Shi'ite volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), stand at attention during military training in Najaf, June 22, 2014. (Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters)

A volunteer in the newly formed "Peace Brigades" trains near the Imam Ali shrine in the southern holy Shiite city of Najaf, Iraq, Friday, June 20, 2014, after calls by the radical Shiite cleric Muqtatda al-Sadr to form brigades to protect Shiite holy shrines against possible attacks by Sunni militants. (Jaber al-Helo/AP)

An Iraqi man who volunteered to join the battle against jihadist-led Sunni militants takes part in a training organized by the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), an Iraqi Shiite political party, on June 18, 2014, in the southern city of Basra. Saudi Arabia warned of the risks of a civil war in Iraq with unpredictable consequences for the region, after Sunni militants seized large areas from Shiite-led government forces. (Mohamad Ali Harissi/AFP/Getty Images)

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr march during a military training in Najaf June 19, 2014. The United States is contemplating talks with its arch-enemy Iran to support the Iraqi government in its battle with Sunni Islamist insurgents who routed Baghdad's army and seized the north of the country in the past week. (Ahmad Musa/Reuters)

Volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi security forces to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) who have taken over Mosul and other northern provinces, take part in a training session in Kerbala, about 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad, June 19, 2014. (Mushtaq Muhammed/Reuters)

A Mehdi Army fighter loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr gestures during military training in Najaf June 19, 2014. (Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters)

Mehdi Army fighters participate in military training in the street in Basra, southeast of Baghdad, June 20, 2014. (Essam Al-Sudani/Reuters)

Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take part in a training session on June 23, 2014 in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. A major militant offensive, led by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant but involving other groups as well, has overrun swathes of five Iraqi provinces since it was launched on June 9. (Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters train in their camp in Arbil on June 14, 2014. Iraqi security forces retook a town north of Baghdad from jihadist militants as they readied a fightback after the premier Nuri al-Maliki announced that the cabinet granted him "unlimited powers" as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. (Safin Hamed/AFP/Getty Images)

Newly-recruited Iraqi volunteers in army uniforms attend a training session on June 20, 2014, in the southern city of Basra as thousands of Shiite volunteers join Iraqi security forces in the fight against Jihadist militants who have taken over several northern Iraqi cities. Dozens of Iraqis crowd shops in central Baghdad scouting for military helmets, boots and camouflage uniforms as they prepare to volunteer to fight against a major militant offensive. (Haidar Mohammed Ali/AFP/Getty Images)

Shiite Iraqi volunteers with the Ashura Brigade, take part in a military training in Najaf on June 22, 2014. US Secretary of State John Kerry on a surprise Egypt visit urged Iraqi leaders to rise above sectarianism, and said Washington was not responsible for the country's crisis. (Haidar Mohammed Ali/AFP/Getty Images)

Newly-recruited Iraqi volunteers in army uniforms attend a training session on June 20, 2014, in the southern city of Basra.(Haidar Mohammed Ali/AFP/Getty Images)

Members of the Shiite Muslim Mehdi Army militia, take part in training in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on June 17, 2014. Iraqi Shiite volunteers, who had been fighting in neighboring Syria, have been heading home to battle an offensive that has brought militants near Baghdad, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. (AFP PHOTO/Getty Images)

A member of the Iraqi security forces opens fire during clashes with fighters from Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Ibrahim bin Ali village, west of Baghdad, June 24, 2014. Iraqi army soldiers clashed with militants from the ISIL, west of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing a number of militants and destroying their vehicles. Iraqi forces retook the Ibrahim bin Ali village. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

A member of the Iraqi security forces aims his weapon during clashes with fighters from Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Ibrahim bin Ali village, west of Baghdad, June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

Members of the Iraqi security forces take positions during clashes with fighters from Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Ibrahim bin Ali village, west of Baghdad, June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

Members of the Iraqi security forces prepare to load a mortar during clashes with fighters from Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Ibrahim bin Ali village, west of Baghdad, June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

Members of the Iraqi security forces load a mortar during clashes with fighters from Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Ibrahim bin Ali village, west of Baghdad, June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

Members of the Iraqi security forces comb an area during clashes with fighters from Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Ibrahim bin Ali village, west of Baghdad, June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

A member of the Iraqi security forces prays during an intensive security deployment west of Baghdad, June 24, 2014. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged leaders of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region on Tuesday to stand with Baghdad in the face of a Sunni insurgent onslaught that threatens to dismember the country. Picture taken June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

Members of the Iraqi security forces take up positions along a road during an intensive security deployment west of Baghdad, June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

Tanks belonging to Iraqi security forces are seen during an intensive security deployment west of Baghdad, June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

Members of the Iraqi security forces pray during an intensive security deployment west of Baghdad, June 24, 2014. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged leaders of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region on Tuesday to stand with Baghdad in the face of a Sunni insurgent onslaught that threatens to dismember the country. Picture taken June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

A member of Iraqi security forces guards during an intensive security deployment west of Baghdad, June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

A member of the Iraqi security forces aims his rifle as he takes up position during an intensive security deployment west of Baghdad, June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

A member of the Iraqi security forces stands guard during an intensive security deployment west of Baghdad, June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

Members of the Iraqi security forces prepare to fire artillery during the clashes with the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the town of Dalli Abbas in Diyala province, June 26, 2014. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the most influential Shi'ite cleric in Iraq, called on the country's leaders on Friday to choose a prime minister within the next four days, a dramatic political intervention that could hasten the end of Nuri al-Maliki's eight year rule. Picture taken June 26, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

A member of the Iraqi security forces gestures after clashes with the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the town of Dalli Abbas in Diyala province, June 26, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Iraqi federal policemen patrol in the town of Taji, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 26, 2014. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took over the country's second largest city 10 days ago. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Mideast nations on Wednesday against taking new military action in Iraq that might heighten already-tense sectarian divisions, as reports surfaced that Syria launched airstrikes across the border and Iran has been flying surveillance drones over the neighboring country. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

A Shi'ite volunteer wearing a mask, who has joined the Iraqi army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), looks on during a parade on a street in Kanaan, Diyala province, June 26, 2014. Iraqi forces launched an airborne assault on rebel-held Tikrit on Thursday with commandos flown into a stadium in helicopters, at least one of which crashed after taking fire from insurgents who have seized northern cities. REUTERS/Stringer

A member of the Kurdish Special Forces is shown positions of ISIS on the front lines near Kirkuk. (Photo by Rick Findler)

A Kurdish peshmerga fighter carries his weapon walks onto his base, where two flags of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are seen on a building, right, and water tower, left, at the front line with the al-Qaida-inspired militants in Tuz Khormato, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the oil rich province of Kirkuk, northern Iraq, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. A defiant Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki rejected calls Wednesday for an interim "national salvation government" intended to undermine the Sunni insurgency by presenting a unified front among Iraq's three main groups, calling it a "coup against the constitution." (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A member of the Kurdish peshmerga takes his position in the town of Suleiman Bek in Salahuddin Province June 26, 2014. The Kurdish peshmerga is fighting against militants from Sunni radical group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for control of Suleiman Bek. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

A Kurdish peshmerga fighter takes his position behind a wall on the front line with militants from the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in Tuz Khormato, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the oil rich province of Kirkuk, northern Iraq, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A Kurdish peshmerga fighter takes his position on the front line with militants from the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in Tuz Khormato, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the oil rich province of Kirkuk, northern Iraq, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A Kurdish peshmerga fighter carries mortar shells behind a sand barrier on the front line with militants from the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in Tuz Khormato, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the oil rich province of Kirkuk, northern Iraq, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A Kurdish peshmerga fighter takes his position behind sand barriers on the front line with militants from the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in Tuz Khormato, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the oil rich province of Kirkuk, northern Iraq, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Kurdish peshmerga fighters take their positions behind a wall and sand barriers on the front line with militants from the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in Tuz Khormato, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the oil rich province of Kirkuk, northern Iraq, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Kurdish peshmerga fighters take their positions behind a wall on the front line with militants from the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in Tuz Khormato, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the oil rich province of Kirkuk, northern Iraq, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A Kurdish peshmerga sniper takes his position behind a wall on the front line with militants from the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in Tuz Khormato, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the oil rich province of Kirkuk, northern Iraq, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters on their military vehicles drive towards the front lines of Mosul villages where they fight against al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in the Khazer area between the Iraqi city of Mosul and the Kurdish city of Irbil, northern Iraq, Wednesday June 25, 2014. Sunni insurgents who seized Iraq's second largest city attacked a nearby Christian village on Wednesday, bringing their fight closer to the largely Kurdish regions of northern Iraq which had remained so far largely untouched from the chaos sweeping the country. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Iraqi security forces operating in al-Daira, a village about 30 miles south of Baghdad that they took back last week from fighters for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. In sight of Iraq’s main highway, the former militant stronghold is a battleground again. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Iraqi security forces training in al-Daira in northern Babil Province, an area the American military called the Triangle of Death. The fighting south of Baghdad has been more deliberate than ISIS’ confident blitz out of Anbar Province nearly three weeks ago that led to a collapse of government forces in Mosul and Tikrit. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Security forces at a position in al-Daira, Iraq. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Security forces have been visibly on edge. Officers rushed two men standing next to a parked pickup truck as a government convoy approached al-Daira, fearing that one was making a call to alert snipers. That was not the case. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Iraqi security forces detained two civilians after one made a cellphone call as a government convoy approached. “They were not who we thought,” an officer said. “They were regular people. We let them go.” Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Iraqi forces in al-Daira. Last week, according to four police officers in Babil Province, counterterrorism officers emptied a prison in Hilla of detained men suspected of working with ISIS and executed as many as 70 of them. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

An Iraqi soldier in al-Daira. “Here it is safe now,” an Iraqi intelligence officer said. “But over there are more terrorists. That is where we will fight them next.” Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Iraqi security forces at a position seized recently from ISIS fighters. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Military vehicles of the Iraqi security forces gather during an intensive security deployment on the outskirts of the city of Samarra, June 24, 2014. Iraqi troops were trying to advance on Tikrit from the direction of Samarra to the south that has become the military's line in the sand against a militant advance by the radical Sunni Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group southwards towards Baghdad. REUTERS/Stringer

Iraqi security forces prepare during an intensive security deployment on the outskirts of the city of Samarra, June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Military vehicles of the Iraqi security forces take part in an intensive security deployment on the outskirts of the city of Samarra, June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Members of Iraqi security forces gesture during an intensive security deployment on the outskirts of the city of Samarra, June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Tanks belonging to the Iraqi security forces take part in an intensive security deployment on the outskirts of the city of Samarra, June 25, 2014. Picture taken June 25, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Members of the Iraqi security forces help prepare a tank during an intensive security deployment on the outskirts of the city of Samarra, June 25, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

A tank from the Iraqi security forces patrols during an intensive security deployment on the outskirts of the city of Samarra, June 25, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

A member of the Iraqi Air Force looks out of a military helicopter at an aerial view of Baghdad, June 26, 2014. Picture taken June 26, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Members of Kurdish security forces patrol after clashes with the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in the village of Basheer, south of the city of Kirkuk, June 29, 2014. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the most influential Shi'ite cleric in Iraq, called on the country's leaders on Friday to choose a prime minister within the next four days, a dramatic political intervention that could hasten the end of Nuri al-Maliki's eight year rule. REUTERS/ Ahmed Jadallah

A member of Kurdish security forces takes cover in a shelter during clashes with militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in the village of Basheer, south of the city of Kirkuk June 29, 2014. Politicians in Baghdad and world powers warn that unless security forces recover cities lost to the jihadi insurgents in tandem with a rapid formation of a government that can bring Iraq's estranged communities together, the country could rip apart along sectarian lines and menace the wider Middle East. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

Members of Kurdish security forces sit in a vehicle as they keep guard during clashes with militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in the village of Basheer, south of the city of Kirkuk June 29, 2014. P REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

A vehicle belonging to Kurdish security forces fires a multiple rocket launcher during clashes with Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Jalawla, Diyala province June 29, 2014. REUTERS/ Stringer

Kurdish Peshmerga troops prepare to fire a cannon during clashes with militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Jalawla, Diyala province June 29, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

A member of the Kurdish Peshmerga troops fire a cannon during clashes with militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Jalawla, Diyala province June 29, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Iraqi federal policemen stand guard at a checkpoint outside of Baghdad International Airport, Iraq, Saturday, June 28, 2014. Iraqi troops backed by helicopter gunships launched an operation early Saturday aimed at dislodging Sunni militants from the northern city of Tikrit, one of two major urban centers they seized in recent weeks in a dramatic blitz across the country. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Iraqi federal policemen patrol in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib suburb, Iraq, Saturday, June 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) prepare before going out on a patrol in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, June 30, 2014. Iraqi troops battled to dislodge an al Qaeda splinter group from the city of Tikrit on Monday after its leader was declared caliph of a new Islamic state in lands seized this month across a swathe of Iraq and Syria. Alarming regional and world powers, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed universal authority when it dropped the local element in its name and said its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as leader of the Islamic State, was now caliph of the Muslim world - a medieval title last widely recognised in the Ottoman sultan deposed 90 years ago after World War One. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

Iraqi soldiers loads ammunition before departing for a patrol in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad,June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

Iraqi security forces prepare during an intensive security deployment in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, June 30, 2014. Iraqi troops battled to dislodge an al Qaeda splinter group from the city of Tikrit on Monday after its leader was declared caliph of a new Islamic state in lands seized this month across a swathe of Iraq and Syria. Alarming regional and world powers, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed universal authority when it dropped the local element in its name and said its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as leader of the Islamic State, was now caliph of the Muslim world - a medieval title last widely recognised in the Ottoman sultan deposed 90 years ago after World War One. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

Iraqi security forces ride on vehicles during an intensive security deployment in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

Iraqi soldiers ride on a truck during clashes with Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

Iraqi soldiers load artillery shells onto a vehicle during clashes with Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

An Iraqi soldier carries an artillery shell during clashes with Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

Iraqi soldiers fire artillery during clashes with Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

An Iraqi Soldier prepares during an intensive security deployment in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

A member of the Iraqi security forces prays during an intensive security deployment in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

Militant Islamist fighters take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. Militant Islamist fighters held a parade in Syria's northern Raqqa province to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from cars and holding guns in the air, the SITE monitoring service said. REUTERS/Stringer

Militant Islamist fighters on a tank take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Militant Islamist fighters take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

A militant Islamist fighter gestures as he takes part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. T REUTERS/Stringer

Militant Islamist fighters take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Militant Islamist fighters travel in a vehicle as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Militant Islamist fighters in military vehicles parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. The fighters held the parade to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from cars and holding guns in the air, the SITE monitoring service said. REUTERS/Stringer

Militant Islamist fighters wave flags as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Militant Islamist fighters wave flags from vehicles during a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Militant Islamist fighters parade on military vehicles along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Militant Islamist fighters ride horses as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

A militant Islamist fighter waves a flag and gestures as he takes part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Residents watch militant Islamist fighters taking part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. The fighters held the parade to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from cars and holding guns in the air, the SITE monitoring service said. Picture taken June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Militant Islamist fighters gesture as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

This undated image posted by the Raqqa Media Center, a Syrian opposition group, on Monday, June 30, 2014, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, shows fighters from the al-Qaida linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during a parade in Raqqa, Syria. Militants from an al-Qaida splinter group held a military parade in their stronghold in northeastern Syria, displaying U.S.-made Humvees, heavy machine guns, and missiles captured from the Iraqi army for the first time since taking over large parts of the Iraq-Syria border. (AP Photo/Raqqa Media Center)

Waffenlieferung aus dem Iran in Umm Qasr (Irak)

Eine Rakete der irakischen Miliz Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq

Abgestürztes Mohajer 4 UAV in Irak

Islamic State Kämpfer mit M1 Kampfüanzer der irakischen Armee

Smoke and fire rise from an Israeli missle strike in Rafah, Tuesday, July 8, 2014. The Israeli military launched what could be a long-term offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday striking nearly 100 sites in Gaza and mobilizing troops for a possible ground invasion aimed at stopping a heavy barrage of rocket attacks against Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Israel to halt the airstrikes immediately and appealed for calm, however, he has little influence over a Gaza Strip that is ruled by Hamas militants who violently overthrew forces loyal to him in 2007. Smaller and more radical forces than Hamas are also involved in rocket fire from Gaza.. (AP Photo/Eyad Baba)

Smoke and flames are seen following what police said was an Israeli air strike in Gaza City July 8, 2014. Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in strikes that Palestinian officials said killed at least 11 people, stepping up what threatens to become a long-term offensive against Islamist group Hamas after scores of rockets hit Israeli towns. REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot

Palestinians carry belongings from a house which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip July 8, 2014. Israel launched an offensive against Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, bombing some 50 targets, including homes, in a campaign meant to end Palestinian rocket fire into the Jewish state.The Israeli military said it targeted about 50 sites in aerial and naval assaults. Palestinian officials said more than 30 of them were bombed in little more than an hour before dawn, including two homes in southern Gaza.
REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Palestinians survey a house which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip July 8, 2014. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

An Israeli soldier stands atop a tank outside the central Gaza Strip July 8, 2014. Israel launched an offensive against Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, bombing some 50 targets, including homes, in a campaign meant to end Palestinian rocket fire into the Jewish state. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Palestinians gather around the remains of a car which police said was targeted in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City July 8, 2014. Israel bombarded dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, stepping up what it said might become a long-term offensive against Islamist Hamas after a surge in Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli towns. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Palestinians inspect the remains of a car which police said was targeted in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City July 8, 2014.

Two policemen (C, carrying weapons) and other people look at the remains of a car which police said was targeted in an Israeli air strike as blood is seen on the ground in Gaza City July 8, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

An Israeli soldier walks near army bulldozers outside the central Gaza Strip July 8, 2014. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

An Israeli tank moves into position on the Israel-Gaza Border, Tuesday, July 8, 2014. The Israeli military launched a major offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday, striking more than 100 sites and mobilizing troops for a possible ground invasion in what Israel says is an operation aimed at stopping a heavy barrage of rocket attacks from the Palestinian territory. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

An Israeli Apache helicopter fires a rocket towards the Gaza Strip as seen from a lookout point near the Israeli town of Sderot July 8, 2014. Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in strikes that Palestinian officials said killed at least 11 people, stepping up what threatens to become a long-term offensive against Islamist group Hamas after scores of rockets hit Israeli towns. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

An Israeli soldier sleeps in a sleeping bag outside the central Gaza Strip July 8, 2014. Israel launched an offensive against Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, bombing some 50 targets, including homes, in a campaign meant to end Palestinian rocket fire into the Jewish state. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

An Israeli soldier covers his head with a camouflage net protect from mosquitos at a gathering area near Israel Gaza Border, Tuesday, July 8, 2014. Israel launched what could be a long-term offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the military said, striking at least 50 sites in Gaza by air and sea and mobilizing troops for a possible ground invasion aimed at stopping a recent barrage of rocket attacks against Israel. The army said its offensive, dubbed "Operation Protective Edge," is aimed at striking Hamas and ending the rocket fire that has intensified in recent weeks amid tensions over the killing of three Israeli teenagers and the apparent revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

An Israeli soldier covered in a payer shawl reads from a holy book at a gathering area near Israel Gaza Border, Tuesday, July 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israeli soldiers wave from a tank moving into position on the Israel-Gaza Border, Tuesday, July 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israeli soldiers work on their tanks at a gathering area near Israel Gaza Border, Tuesday, July 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israeli soldiers stand on Merkava tanks in an army deployment area near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip on July 8, 2014. Israeli warplanes pounded Gaza with more than 50 strikes overnight after Hamas militants fired scores of rockets over the border, dragging the two sides towards a major conflict. AFP PHOTO/JACK GUEZJACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images

sraeli police officers take cover during an infiltration by Hamas gunmen near Kibbutz Zikim, outside the northern Gaza Strip, July 8, 2014. In a bold infiltration, five gunmen from Hamas landed on the shore near Zikim, where a kibbutz and an army base are located, just over the border from Gaza. Israel's army said it shot them dead. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israeli police and border police stand near the remains of a rocket fired from Gaza after it landed near Jerusalem July 8, 2014. Israel said it knew of no casualties from a long-range Palestinian rocket salvo on Tuesday that Hamas said targeted cities including central Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, as well as Haifa in the north. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

An Iron Dome launcher fires an interceptor rocket in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod July 8, 2014. At least 16 people were killed in strikes across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said, as Israel threatened a lengthy offensive against Islamist militants whose rocket fire reached as far as Tel Aviv. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

I

Jesus, Maria und Josef, der D9 Bulldozer ist ja ein Monster von Maschine.

Israeli soldiers use binoculars to watch a convoy travelling outside central Gaza Strip July 19, 2014. Israeli forces on Saturday pressed ahead with a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian militants kept firing rockets deep into Israel's heartland, pushing the death toll past 300 in almost two weeks of conflict. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israeli soldiers use binoculars to watch the Israeli Gaza border outside central Gaza Strip July 19, 2014. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israeli soldiers patrol near the Israel and Gaza border, Friday, July, 18, 2014. Israeli troops pushed deeper into Gaza on Friday to destroy rocket launching sites and tunnels, firing volleys of tank shells and clashing with Palestinian fighters in a high-stakes ground offensive meant to weaken the enclave's Hamas rulers. Israel launched the operation late Thursday, following a 10-day campaign of more than 2,000 air strikes against Gaza that had failed to halt relentless Hamas rocket fire on Israeli cities. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)

Israeli soldiers walk near the Israel and Gaza border, Saturday, July 19, 2014. Israel pounded Hamas rocket launchers, uncovered more than a dozen cross-border tunnels and engaged in gunbattles with Palestinian militants Saturday, as fighting intensified on the second day of its open-ended ground operation in Gaza, as the Palestinian death toll continued to rise. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)

Israeli soldiers stand near the border with Gaza, Saturday, July 19, 2014. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Israeli soldiers carry a comrade on a stretcher, who was wounded during an offensive in Gaza, outside northern Gaza July 20, 2014. Israel said on Sunday it had expanded its ground offensive in Gaza and militants kept up rocket fire into the Jewish state with no sign of a diplomatic breakthrough to end the worst fighting between Israel and Hamas in two years. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Israeli soldiers, wounded during Israel's offensive in Gaza, are evacuated into military ambulances near the border with Gaza July 20, 2014. At least 40 Palestinians were killed on Sunday by Israeli shelling in a Gaza neighbourhood, witnesses and health officials said, in the heaviest since Israel launched its offensive on the Palestinian territory on July 8 after cross-border rocket strikes by militants intensified. There were no signs of a diplomatic breakthrough toward a ceasefire, and militants kept up their rocket fire on Israel. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

An Israeli soldier, wounded during Israel's offensive in Gaza, lies on a stretcher before being evacuated near the border with Gaza July 20, 2014. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Israeli soldiers, wounded during Israel's offensive in Gaza, are evacuated near the border with Gaza July 20, 2014. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Israeli soldiers, wounded during Israel's offensive in Gaza, are treated before being evacuated by military ambulance near the border with Gaza July 20, 2014. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Israeli soldiers evacuate their wounded comrades at an army deployment area near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, on July 20, 2014 (AFP Photo/Jack Guez)

Islamic State, allies blunt Iraqi offensive to retake Tikrit
The Islamic State and its Baathist allies have forced Iraqi troops that were attempting to retake Tikrit to withdraw from the city just one day after launching a much touted offensive. Iraqi forces, which include regular Army units, paramilitary SWAT teams, and hastily raised Shia militias from the south, launched their offensive, called Decisive Sword, to regain control of the capital of Salahaddin province with much fanfare yesterday morning. The military claimed to take control of much of the southern part of the city, as well as a hospital and a police academy. But the assault force "retreated from Tikrit before sunset on Tuesday ... after coming under heavy mortar and sniper fire," Reuters reported.

The Salahaddin Division of the Islamic State claimed on its Twitter page that its forces stopped the Iraqi assault force on the southern outskirts of Tikrit. The jihadist group also claimed that a "Libyan Brother" known as "Okasha" was killed while launching "a martyrdom operation," or suicide attack, against Iraqi forces. The Salahaddin Division also said two other foreign suicide bombers, "Abu Abdullah Azerbaijani" and "Abu Shaybah Jazrawi," (a Saudi), launched suicide attacks near Samarra and killed or wounded dozens of soldiers. The reports could not be confirmed.

The Salahaddin Division celebrated its victory and published photographs of the aftermath of the battle on its Twitter feed. The images included Islamic State fighters holding their flags while standing on top of abandoned or destroyed Iraqi military vehicles, including US-made HUMVEEs, as well a captured banner of a Shia militia. [...]

Quelle: The Long War Journal

Iraqi Army comes under attack in Haditha
The Islamic State's Anbar Division released a series of photos that purport to document the overrunning of Iraqi Army bases in the city of Haditha. Nineteen photographs captioned with "Charging at a number of barracks of the Savafid army in the city of Haditha" were released yesterday on the jihadist group's Twitter feed.
At least one military outpost appears to have been overrun in the attack. The exact location of the base was not disclosed. The photographs show a convoy of Islamic State technicals, or pickup trucks with machine guns mounted in the beds, advancing through the desert, stopping, and taking up position to fire on the outpost. The Islamic State deployed at least one mortar team during the attack.

At one point, a squad of Islamic State fighters is photographed entering the base. The Iraqi combat outpost appears to have been manned by troops. The bodies of several soldiers are shown; one is displayed near a captured US-supplied Humvee.

The city of Haditha and the neighboring towns of Barwana and Haqlaniyah are among the few areas still under Iraqi government control. The Haditha Dam, which controls flood waters south of Haditha and generates power, is said to have been reinforced by several thousand Iraqi troops. The Islamic State is said to control areas in the Barwana district; given the group's ability to attack Iraqi forces in Haditha, that seems likely. [...]

Quelle: The Long War Journal

Israeli soldier holds up his weapon outside the northern Gaza Strip, near the site where Palestinian militants crossed the border from Gaza July 21, 2014. Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinian militants who slipped across the border from Gaza through hidden tunnels on Monday, the military said, as the death toll from the two-week conflict passed 500 amid growing international calls for an end. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Israeli soldiers take position in the southern town of Sderot during an infiltration by Palestinian militants July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Israeli soldiers take position in the southern town of Sderot, during an infiltration by Palestinian militants July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Israeli soldiers take position along a fence in the southern town of Sderot, during infiltration by Palestinian militants July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

An injured Israeli soldier is evacuated from near the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip on July 21 following heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants. Menahem Kahana/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

A wounded Israeli soldier is carried on a stretcher to an awaiting helicopter (not pictured) for evacuation outside Gaza July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

A wounded Israeli soldier is carried on a stretcher into an awaiting helicopter for evacuation outside Gaza July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Israeli soldiers stand guard outside the northern Gaza Strip near the scene where Palestinian militants crossed the border from Gaza July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

An Israeli soldier holds a position during an army deployment near the Israel-Gaza border Monday after militants from Gaza infiltrated southern Israel through two tunnels. Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Israeli soldiers patrol near the town of Sderot after a group of Hamas militants was detected infiltrating into Israel, Monday, July 21, 2014. The Israeli military said 10 infiltrators were killed after being detected and targeted by Israeli aircraft. Israel invaded Gaza late last week, preceded by a 10-day air campaign. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Israeli soldiers on patrol near the border with the Gaza Strip on July 22, 2014, as they search for tunnels reportedly used by Palestinian militants from the coastal enclave to enter Israel (AFP Photo/Menahem Kahana)

Israeli soldiers take positions during a drill near the Israel and Gaza border, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. Israeli airstrikes pummeled a wide range of targets in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday as the U.N. chief and the U.S. secretary of state began an intensive effort to end more than two weeks of fighting that has killed hundreds of Palestinians and dozens of Israelis. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)

Israeli soldiers kneel during a drill near the Israel and Gaza border, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)

Israeli soldiers rest during a drill near the Israel and Gaza border, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)

Israeli soldiers kneel during a drill near the Israel and Gaza border, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)

Israeli soldiers kneel during a drill near the Israel and Gaza border, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)

An Israeli soldier takes position after receiving a warning of a possible tunnel dug from the Gaza Strip into Israel, outside the Gaza Strip July 22, 2014. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Gas deployed by the Israeli army gushes out of a hole in a tunnel, which was used by Hamas militants in an attack on July 21, during an operation to search for tunnels dug by the Palestinian militants, just outside the Gaza Strip July 22, 2014. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

A Palestinian gunman fires in the air during the funeral of Mahmoud al-Shawamrah in the West Bank town of Al-Ram near Jerusalem July 22, 2014. Israeli troops shot dead al-Shawamrah during clashes with stone-throwers in the occupied West Bank on Monday, both sides said, as tensions mounted over Israel's military offensive in Gaza. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Israeli soldiers, wounded during an offensive in Gaza, are evacuated near the border with central Gaza Strip July 23, 2014. Israeli forces pounded multiple sites across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, including the enclave's sole power plant, and said it was meeting stiff resistance from Hamas Islamists, as diplomats sought to end the bloodshed. Israel launched its offensive on July 8 to halt missile salvoes by Hamas Islamists, which was angered by a crackdown on its supporters in the nearby occupied West Bank and suffering economic hardship because of an Israeli-Egyptian blockade. REUTERS/Yossi Aloni

Israeli soldiers,wounded during an offensive in Gaza, board a helicopter for evacuation near the border with central Gaza Strip July 23, 2014. REUTERS/Yossi Aloni

An Israeli soldier, wounded during an offensive in Gaza, is carried on a stretcher to an awaiting helicopter for evacuation near the border with central Gaza July 23, 2014. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

An Israeli military helicopter evacuates soldiers, wounded during an offensive in Gaza, near the border with the central Gaza Strip July 23, 2014. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Israeli soldier sleeps near the border of Israel and Gaza Strip Wednesday, July 23, 2014. Israeli troops battled Hamas militants on Wednesday near a southern Gaza Strip town, sending Palestinian residents fleeing, as the U.S. secretary of state presses ahead with top-gear efforts to end the conflict that has killed hundreds of Palestinians and tens of Israelis. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

An Israeli soldier prays near the border of Israel and the Gaza Strip Wednesday, July 23, 2014. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

An Israeli civilian brings presents for soldiers as they return from the Gaza Strip at an army deployment area near Israel's border with the besieged Palestinian territory on July 23, 2014 (AFP Photo/Menahem Kahana)

Israeli soldiers return from combat in the Gaza Strip at an army deployment area near Israel's border with the besieged Palestinian territory on July 23, 2014 (AFP Photo/Jack Guez)

Israeli soldiers evacuate their wounded comrades at an army deployment area near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip on July 23, 2014 (AFP Photo/Jack Guez)

Israeli soldiers guard Palestinians captured during a military offensive in the Gaza Strip in this July 23, 2014 handout photo obtained by Reuters from the Israeli news website Walla. Israel said on Thursday it had detained scores of Palestinians during fighting in the Gaza Strip. Pictures of one group of men being held outside under guard by Israeli soldiers were published on Thursday on the Israeli news website Walla. Picture taken July 23, 2014. REUTERS/Walla News/Handout via Reuters

Israeli soldiers prepare for a patrol near Kibbutz Nir Am, just outside the Gaza Strip July 24, 2014. Israel won a partial reprieve from the economic pain of its Gaza war on Thursday with the lifting of a U.S. ban on commercial flights to Tel Aviv, while continued fighting pushed the Palestinian death toll over 700. A truce remained elusive despite intensive mediation efforts. Israel says it needs more time to eradicate rocket stocks and cross-border tunnels in the Gaza Strip and Hamas Islamists demand the blockade on the enclave be lifted. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Israeli soldiers carry wounded soldier to a helicopter near the Israel and Gaza border Thursday, July 24, 2014. Israeli tanks and warplanes bombarded the Gaza Strip on Thursday, as Hamas militants stuck to their demand for the lifting of an Israeli and Egyptian blockade in the face of U.S. efforts to reach a cease-fire. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)

Israeli soldiers patrol on a beach outside the northern Gaza Strip July 24, 2014. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israeli soldiers stand atop a tank at a military staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip July 24, 2014. REUTERS/Nir Elias

Israeli soldiers clean their weapons as they sit next to a tank at a military staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip July 24, 2014. REUTERS/Nir Elias

Qassam sniper ready to hunt Zionist soldiers invading Gaza with Sayyad-2, Iranian made anti-material rifle