Putin offers Iraq's Maliki 'complete support' against militants

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday offered Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki Russia's total backing for the fight against fighters who have swept across the country.

"Putin confirmed Russia's complete support for the efforts of the Iraqi government to speedily liberate the territory of the republic from terrorists," the Kremlin said in a statement following a phone conversation between the two leaders.

Meanwhile, militants attacked the town of Muqdadiyah northeast of Baghdad on Friday, sparking clashes that killed 30 Shiite militiamen, a police colonel and a doctor said.

The fighting began on Friday morning and eased later in the day with security forces still in control of Muqdadiyah, a key approach to Diyala provincial capital Baquba, and militants deployed in adjoining areas.

Shiite militiamen have joined Iraqi security forces in fighting against a major offensive by Sunni Arab militants that overran all of one province and chunks of three more in a matter of days.

Security forces performed poorly during the initial days of the assault, in some cases shedding uniforms and abandoning vehicles in their haste to flee.

While they seem to have recovered somewhat from the shock of the onslaught, retaking ground in certain areas, the militants have made gains elsewhere.

UN aid agencies said Friday they were rushing supplies to conflict-torn Iraq to help over one million people driven from their homes by fighting.

Donor nations were also holding a closed-door meeting at the UN's European offices in Geneva ahead of an expected fresh funding appeal next week, said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the world body's humanitarian division.

An existing $105-million appeal has garnered just 14 percent of what is needed, he told reporters.

Around 500,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Iraq's western Anbar province, notably the flashpoint city of Fallujah, since the beginning of this year, according to UN figures.

A similar number have fled in the wake the fall of the northern city of Mosul last week.