Al Qaeda in Iraq is back in business. Since the December 2011 withdrawal of the US troops from the country, various militant cells operating under the umbrella of the "Islamic State in Iraq" (ISI) have launched at least one highly lethal bomb attack per month, along with a string of other violent incidents.
Take last Friday for example: a car bomb targeting a Shiite mosque, attack on a checkpoint manned by armed Sunni tribesmen opposed to Al Qaeda, and a roadside bomb hitting a police patrol, all in one day. Back in May, a wave of car bombs and assaults killed more than 100 people across Iraq.
ISI is gathering revenue and recruits in Iraq's Sunni north-east, tapping into local resentment of the Shiite-dominated government in the capital Baghdad, and posing as an alternative employer in an area with few job opportunities.
Read more about the "Islamic State in Iraq" in my new profile article.
Photo by Wathiq Khuzaie / Getty Images
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