Militants
took a town an hour from Baghdad that is home to four natural gas fields 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 U.S. occupation.
The
insurgents, led by
