Insurgents overrun parts of Iraqi city of Samarra

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* Insurgents raise militant Sunni flag over city hall * City's Shi'ite shrine was at centre of 2006 bloodletting * Offensive is part of escalating war with Baghdad gov't By Ghazwan Hassan TIKRIT, Iraq, June 5 (Reuters) - Sunni insurgents overran parts of the city of Samarra in **rthern Iraq early on Thursday, bringing them within striking distance of a Shi'ite shrine that was previously the trigger for sectarian war. The offensive is part of an escalating war between Iraq's Shi'ite-led government and militants who have been regaining ground and momentum over the past year, particularly in the west of the country bordering Syria. The Sunni militants blew up a police station around 25 km south of Samarra overnight, security sources said, killing several policemen before advancing on the city in pick-up trucks, raiding checkpoints on the way. After entering the city from both east and west, they seized control of the municipality building and university, raising the black flag of the Sunni militant 'Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) over both buildings, police said.

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