News Update

Radical Islamic militants linked to al-Qaida are tightening their grip on Iraq’s Anbar province, mounting a serious challenge to the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.  Analysts say the fresh fighting is the latest evidence the Syrian civil war is spilling over, causing sectarian violence and bloodshed around the region.

For the first time since U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq, al-Qaida-linked militants have seized parts of key cities in the desert leading to the Syrian border.

Militants have taken over neighborhoods in Fallujah and Ramadi in western Anbar province, a hotbed of Sunni extremism.

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Analyst Bill Roggio spoke to VOA via Skype.

“We are going to learn whether they can get this situation under control.  But when two major Iraqi cities fall completely or partially under enemy control I think at that point you have to say the situation has spiraled out of control,” said Roggio.