BAGHDAD – Iraqi security forces readied a counter-offensive against militants north of Baghdad on Saturday, an army colonel said, after the prime minister announced the cabinet granted him “unlimited powers.”



The colonel from the military command responsible for Samarra, a city 110 km (70 miles) north of the capital, said reinforcements from the federal police and army arrived on Friday.



The officer said the reinforcements were for a drive against areas north of the city, including Dur and Tikrit, that militants seized in a spectacular assault this week.



Security forces were awaiting orders to begin, the colonel said.



The offensive, spearheaded by militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) but also involving supporters of now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein, has overrun a large chunk of northern and north-central Iraq since Monday.



Security forces have generally performed poorly, with some abandoning their vehicles and positions and discarding their uniforms.



On Friday, police and residents expelled militants from the Dhuluiyah area, just 90 km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, where they had set up checkpoints, witnesses said.



“Residents are now firing into the air” in celebration, witness Abu Abdullah told AFP.



Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, a Shiite, said that “the cabinet granted the prime minister, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, unlimited powers” to combat the militants, in a statement posted late Friday on his website.

His announcement seemed to indicate he is claiming similar authority to that granted if parliament declares a state of emergency, in which case the constitution says the prime minister is to have the “necessary powers,” the specifics of which are to be regulated by law.



Parliament had been due to consider a motion granting Maliki emergency powers on Thursday but failed to muster a quorum, with one official saying only 128 out of 325 MPs showed up. – AFP