No date has been set for the next parliamentary meeting, independent Alsumaria TV said, a fiasco set to deepen Iraq's political and security woes.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talibini had asked for declaring the state of emergency to grant the government sweeping powers to halt lightening advances by militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

According to Iraqi media, government troops, backed by warplanes, Thursday regained the central city of Tikrit, the hometown of late dictator Saddam Hussein, a day after militants seized it.

In Mosul, 31 truck drivers from Turkey that had been held hostage by ISIL militants since they seized the city have been released, CNN Turk and a labour union association reported.

Nearly 50 diplomatic staff from the consul office in Mosul are reportedly still being held.

Baghdad has said it would allow the United States to launch airstrikes against the militants, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed US officials.

The Obama administration was considering a range of options, including airstrikes carried out by drones or manned aircraft, senior US officials told the newspaper.

NJF/NJF