Live Blog: The struggle for Iraq

The head of Iran's elite Quds forces, Major-General Qassem Suleimani, travelled to Iraq last week with 67 top advisers, reports UK weekly The Sunday Times.

According to the paper, a top Iraqi official revealed that the Iranian general is "in charge of arming, deploying forces, weaponry and planning the battles"

The stock exchange of the United Arab Emirates listed a fall on Sunday morning, with stock market indicators down by 2.9 percent.

The head of UAE-based Vision Investment Company put the fall down to "geo-political risks associated with Iraq", reports Reuters.

Early on Sunday morning a mortar attack hit a volunteer recruitment centre in Diyala province, killing six.

Among the dead were three soldiers from the official Iraqi army.

Breaking: Official confirmation from the Kurdish Peshmerga that they have been holding Rabia border crossing between Iraq and Syria since Tuesday.

Rabia is one of two official border crossings between the countries.

The secretary general of the ministry responsible for the Peshmerga told AFP that Kurdish troops took control of the crossing after Iraqi forces withdrew.

Good map of the situation on the ground following from the Iraqi army counter-offensive which began this morning.  

Reporter Sofia Barbarani speaks with Kurdish Peshmargas fighters just 700 meters from ISIL lines in northern Iraq. 

A young soldier tells her:  “We are not scared of anyone, only of God,” while pointing to a graveyard of Iraqi army vehicles abandoned by fleeing Iraq troops. 

A senior commander also vows to stay firm and resist and ISIL or other military attacks: “Why did the Iraqi army leave? We would never do that.” 

The commander of Iran's Border Guards announced on Saturday that his forces have stepped up security measures along the country's Western borders.

He also said that his team had "offered some proposals" regarding the issue of Iraqis who might head to Iran seeking a safe haven from violence, according to the state news agency Fars.

News site Arabi21 has a profile of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, a top minister under Saddam Hussein and current leader of the banned Baath party who is widely reported to be allied to ISIL fighters in the current clashes.

His son, also named Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, was reportedly killed along with 49 other Baath party loyalists in an air raid in Tikrit on Saturday morning.

Married five times and father to 24 children, the older Douri has had a long and varied career, including working as the President's negotiator with Kuwait during the 1990 war and acting as Saddam Hussein's right-hand man.

After the 2003 invasion the US announced a $10m reward for information leading to his capture or elimination.

In 2012 Douri announced that his Baath party is against Iran and its influence in Iraq.

Tribal sources estimate the number of volunteers who have joined the fight against supposed ISIL militants at around 8000.

This follows Friday's call by Ayatollah al-Sistani for those who are able to take up arms and join the fight.

On Saturday official Iraqi military sources said that they are recruiting volunteers "based on guidelines prepared by the military leadership."

The Iraqi army has regained control of most of the northern areas of Salah al-Din province, according to a statement by Maliki's spokesperson quoted by Anadolu.

This could include the town of Baiji, where it was reported earlier in the day that at least 200 suspected militants had been killed in army air strikes

The Doha-based International Union of Muslim Scholars has warned that statements urging Shiites to take up arms could lead to "devastating sectarian war", after Shiite Ayatollah al-Sistani on Friday urged his followers to take up arms in the struggle.

In a statement released on Friday the union, headed by prominent scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi, described recent developments in Iraq as the "result of oppression and exclusion of people that wanted freedom."

The union called on Shiites to "stand by their Sunni brothers" and work towards a viable solution.

At least 10 clerics have been killed in Mosul by militants allegedly fighting under the ISIL banner, for refusing to pledge allegiance.

The reports are surfacing in numerous Iraqi news outlets including the Shiite Buratha News Agency.

State television channel Al Iraqia is reporting that many of those fighting against Maliki's forces are from Afghanistan, with an eye-witness from Mosul describing the "Afghan" style of dress that militants are demanding women wear.

Another commenter from Basra said that he would do everything in his power to "help get rid of the foreigners from Iraq."

Translation: al-Maliki tells the army that militants of the "Sunna" will overcome