Sunni militants 'seize Iraq's western border crossings'

Officials said the rebels took two key crossings in Anbar on Sunday, a day after seizing one at Qaim, a town in the province that borders Syria. The strategically important airport in the northern town of Tal Afar has also reportedly fallen to the rebels. Isis-led militants have cut a swathe through parts of Iraq. Since the fall of Mosul in early June, Isis - the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant - have helped win large areas in the west and north. They have taken four strategically important towns in the predominantly Sunni Anbar province - Qaim, Rutba, Rawa and Anah - in the last two days.

Gunmen reportedly captured the border posts of al-Waleed, on the Syrian frontier, and Turaibil, on the Jordanian border, on Sunday after government forces pulled out. The capture of frontier crossings could help Isis transport weapons and other equipment to different battlefields, analysts say.

After a bit of a pause and some patchy fighting in a belt around 70km (45 miles) north and north-east of Baghdad, the Sunni rebels seem to be on the move again. The focus has shifted partly to Anbar, the vast, mainly Sunni-populated province to the west of Baghdad, an area where the tribes are particularly strong, according to BBC.

The reported fall of two more border posts, one on the main road to Jordan, and the other to Syria, means that the government has lost control of all its western borders. One tribal leader said that 90% of the province is now in rebel hands. Even before the current crisis began, the city of Falluja, barely 30km from Baghdad's western edge, had been held by rebels since January, along with half of the provincial capital Ramadi. In many places, troops and police seem to have left their posts after being given safe passage by the militants, to avoid bloodshed.

If reports of the capture of the important airport at the strategic northern town of Tal Afar are confirmed, it would be bad news for the Baghdad government, which had been hoping to use the airport as a launching-pad for an attempt to recapture the nearby city of Mosul.