Al-Qaeda Sets Sights On Iraq’s Anbar Province
As al-Qaeda-affiliated groups expand their activities throughout Iraq, some believe they are eyeing Anbar province, where a “huge battle” could unfold in the near future.
While the activities of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) — the regional faction of the international al-Qaeda organization — are expanding across the Iraqi map through bombings that are becoming ever more violent, Anbar province west of Baghdad is considered the most valuable location for various strategic considerations. Furthermore, it is expected that Anbar will serve as fertile ground for a real war in the next few months.
On Oct. 21, suicide bombers attempted to storm the security zone in Fallujah, which includes a police station and a number of governmental institutions.
The armed individuals did not succeed, and all of them were killed in subsequent fierce clashes. Anbar Police Chief Hadi Razij Kassar affirmed that six armed individuals — including the suicide bombers — were killed, and that the people who had been taken hostage within the directorate of electricity, located near where the clashes took place, were released. The attack, nevertheless, conveyed many messages, the most notable of which was that al-Qaeda sought to make Anbar a turning point in its regional battle on the Iraqi-Syrian border.
The local government in Anbar held security forces responsible for the incident, believing that the latter reflected bad security management, a lack of cooperation and weak intelligence efforts.
