Iraqi probe panel finds Maliki responsible for Mosul fall

An Iraqi parliamentary panel has called for former prime minister Nouri Maliki to face trial over the fall of the northern city of Mosul to Islamic State.

More than 30 other officials, including former Mosul governor Athil al-Nujaifi, were also blamed in the report, reports BBC News.

The militants seized Mosul in a sweep across north and west Iraq in June last year.

Maliki, a Shia, was seen as having fanned sectarian tensions, leading to a growth of discontent in those mainly Sunni Arab areas captured by IS.

Hours earlier, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi cleared the way for a court martial of military commanders who abandoned their posts as another city, Ramadi, fell to IS in May this year.

The moves come as the current government launches a major campaign to combat corruption and mismanagement.

The report on Mosul was approved by 16 of the parliamentary committee's 24 members, and would be submitted to a vote by the whole chamber on Monday, lawmakers said.

"No-one is above the law and accountability to the people," said parliament speaker Salim al-Jaburi in a statement.

"The judiciary will punish perpetrators and delinquents."

IS captured Mosul on 10 June last year as they swept through a broad swathe of Iraq to the north and west of Baghdad.

Resistance from Iraqi security forces collapsed almost immediately, leaving large amounts of weapons and equipment in the hands of the militants.