Iraqis attempt river crossing as militants take Mosul

As many as 500,000 people have been forced to flee the Iraqi city of Mosul after Islamist militants effectively took control of it, the International Organization for Migration says.

Troops were among those fleeing as hundreds of jihadists from the ISIS group overran the city and much of the surrounding province of Nineveh.

Some civilians resorted to crossing the river Tigris without boats to escape the violence in Mosul.