A number of families have fled the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad, saying that if the government does not intervene, their city will end up like Kabul during the Taliban era. The fleeing families say that extremists have renamed the city "the Islamic Emirate of Samarra, which is one of the emirates of the Islamic State of Iraq, declared by Al-Qaeda in the Land of Two Rivers last year. Abdul-Karim Sadi, 46, said: "We and our families have gradually fled our city leaving behind our possessions except for some money that will sustain us for a few months. The...