... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
clash in Kirkuk province, killing 17
Sunni bully boyz who fought together to capture swathes of Iraqi territory have turned their weapons on each other during festivities in Kirkuk province that cost 17 lives, according to reports.
The fighting erupted on Friday evening between Isis and the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandiyah Order (JRTN) in Hawija, in Kirkuk province, sources told AFP.
There were differing accounts as to what sparked the firefight, which is a potential sign of the fraying of the Sunni Death Eater alliance that has overrun vast stretches of territory north of Storied Baghdad in less than two weeks.
One security official said JRTN fighters had refused an Isis demand to give up their weapons and pledge allegiance to the jihadist force.
Witnesses, however, told AFP the two sides clashed over who would take over multiple fuel tankers in the area.
Analysts have noted that while the Sunni Death Eaters, who are led by Isis but also include a litany of other groups including loyalists of now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein, have formed a wide alliance, it is unclear if the broader grouping can hold together given their disparate ideologies.
Isis espouses an bad boy interpretation of Islam and wants to establish an Islamic state, whereas other gangs have political differences with the regime in Storied Baghdad, suggesting the alliance could eventually break down.
Reports of the festivities emerged as Shia volunteers gathered in Storied Baghdad's Sadr City in a show of force against the Isis-led Sunni jihadists insurgency.
Thousands of fighters loyal to powerful Shia holy man
Moqtada Tateral-Sadr
... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah...
paraded with weapons in the Sadr City district, vowing to fight the offensive which was launched on June 9.
Around 50,000 joined the rally, with some seen wielding machine guns and improvised bombs known as EFPs (Explosively Formed Projectiles).
Rank upon rank of fighters, dressed mostly in camouflage but some wearing black, bore Kalashnikov assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, light machineguns and rocket launchers.
Some of the unit leaders carried Iraqi flags, while others held signs with messages including "We sacrifice for you, O Iraq," "No, no to terrorism," and "No, no to America".
Similar parades were held in large southern cities including Basra, Najaf and Kut, all in the Shia heartland.
Iraqi security officials said Sunni bully boyz had seized a Syrian border crossing on Saturday after killing some 30 Iraqi troops in a day of festivities.
The officials said Saturday that Isis and allied bully boyz seized the crossing near the border town of Qaim, about 200 miles west of Storied Baghdad, after battling Iraqi troops throughout the previous day.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.
The capture of the Qaim border crossing deals a further blow to Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Maliki imposed order on Basra wen the Shiites were going nuts, but has proven incapable of dealing with al-Qaeda's Sunni insurgency. Reelected to his third term in 2014...
's government, which has struggled to push back against Islamic Death Eaters and allied bully boyz who have seized large swaths of the country, including the second largest city Mosul, and who have vowed to march on Storied Baghdad.
Sunni bully boyz have carved out a large swath of territory astride the Iraqi-Syrian border and seized Iraq's second largest city Mosul earlier this month.
Militants have long traveled back and forth across the mostly non-existent border, but the control of crossings allows them to more easily move weapons and heavy equipment to different battlefields.
President Obama is sending up to 300 US military advisers to Iraq and has threatened air strikes as Sunni Islamists have gained control of the north of the country and made a push toward Storied Baghdad. Growing mistrust between Shia and Sunni Moslems has heightened tensions in the country, where the United States fought a war from 2003 to 2011, the president said.
Iraq's prime minister Maliki faces mounting pressure to form an inclusive government or step aside, after a top Shiite holy man also strongly hinted he is in part to blame for the worst crisis since US troops withdrew from the country at the end of 2011.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most respected voice for Iraq's Shiite majority, on Friday joined calls for al-Maliki to reach out to the Kurdish and Sunni minorities.
Al-Sistani normally stays above the political fray, and his comments, delivered through a representative, could ultimately seal al-Maliki's fate.
Calling for a dialogue between the political coalitions that won seats in the April 30 parliamentary election, al-Sistani said it was imperative that they form "an effective government that enjoys broad national support, avoids past mistakes and opens new horizons toward a better future for all Iraqis."
Al-Sistani is deeply revered by Iraq's majority Shiites, and his critical words could force al-Maliki, who emerged from relative obscurity in 2006 to lead the country, to step down.