Iraq crisis: 'We are thirsty to fight,' says Shia commander
The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has offered an amnesty to militants willing to "return to their senses" and abandon the Isis-led insurgency which is threatening to tear the country apart.
The insurgents now hold vast swathes of territory spanning the Iraq Syria border.
Fighter jets - thought to be Iranian - landed in Baghdad on Wednesday as the Iraqi military struggles to fight back.
Gabriel Gatehouse reports from the Iraqi capital for BBC Newsnight.