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In this Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014 photo, Gunmen hold their weapons in Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq. Islamic militants controlling a mainly Sunni area west of Baghdad are so well-armed that they could occupy the capital, a top Iraqi official warned Monday, a frank and bleak assessment of the challenge posed in routing the insurgents as a new wave of bombings killed at least 31 people. Since late December, members of Iraq’s al-Qaida branch – known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – have taken over parts of Ramadi, the capital of the largely Sunni western province of Anbar. (AP Photo)
Iraq: Anbar council forms crisis unit to attempt peaceful resolution
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Anbar Provincial Council has formed a crisis unit ahead of a possible military raid on Fallujah in the hopes of resolving the conflict in the city peacefully. Council head Sabah Karhout issued a statement Tuesday, saying: “Anbar has formed...Caption:
Syrian boys, stand in a destroyed street which was damaged by the shelling of the Syrian forces, at Maarat al-Nuaman town, in Idlib province, Syria. (AP)
Law and Order in Rebel-Held Areas of Syria
Idlib, Asharq Al-Awsat—Spring has come early to Jebel Al-Kurd. Already the cherry trees are coming into blossom, blanketing the hillsides with a soft pastel pink, and the skies shine a pale azure. But a sharp wind still blows across the mountains, whistling through...Caption:
The headquarters of Jabhat Tahrir Syria Islamia (Freedom for Islamic Syria), where Aleppo residents undergo judicial procedures in accordance with Sharia law. (AAA photo)