ISIS seizes Iraqi gasfield town

BAGHDAD: ISIS took a town an hour from Baghdad that is home to four natural gasfields on Thursday, another gain by Sunni insurgents who have swiftly taken large areas to the north and west of the Iraqi capital. Iraq's presidency said a session of parliament would be held on July 1, the first step to forming a new government that the international community hopes will be inclusive enough to undermine the insurgency. The overnight offensive included Mansouriyat al-Jabal, home to the gas fields where foreign companies operate, security forces said. The fighting threatens to rupture the country two and a half years after the end of US occupation. The insurgents, led by the hardline ISIS but also including other Sunni groups blame PM Nouri al-Maliki for marginalizing their sect during eight years in power and he is fighting for his job. Reuters