Iraq’s battle against extremists spreads outside of Anbar - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

A woman walks past the site of a bomb attack in Balad Ruz, in northeastern Iraq, January 3, 2014. A suicide bomber driving a car packed with explosives killed at least 12 people who had gathered to buy and sell cars in Iraq on Thursday, local officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place near the car markets in the town of Balad Ruz, in northeastern Iraq, injuring another 25 people. REUTERS/Mohammed Adnan (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST) - RTX170P9

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A woman walks past the site of a bomb attack in Balad Ruz, in northeastern Iraq, January 3, 2014. A suicide bomber driving a car packed with explosives killed at least 12 people who had gathered to buy and sell cars in Iraq on Thursday, local officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place near the car markets in the town of Balad Ruz, in northeastern Iraq, injuring another 25 people. REUTERS/Mohammed Adnan (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST) - RTX170P9

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Iraqi soldiers inspect a vehicle at a check point in west Baghdad, January 6, 2014. Iraq's prime minister urged people in the besieged city of Falluja on Monday to drive out al Qaeda-linked insurgents to pre-empt a military offensive that officials said could be launched within days. In a statement on state television, Nuri al-Maliki, a Shi'ite Muslim whose government has little support in Sunni-dominated Falluja, called on tribal leaders to drive out militants who last week seized key towns in the desert

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Iraqi SWAT troopers pose for pictures as they take part in an intensive security deployment during clashes with al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the city of Ramadi, 100 km (62 miles) west of Baghdad, February 1, 2014. Iraqi troops and allied tribesmen killed 57 Islamist militants in Anbar province on Monday, the Defence Ministry said, in advance of a possible assault on the Sunni rebel-held city of Falluja. There was no independent verification of the toll among the militants,

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Iraqi SWAT troopers take part in an intensive security deployment during clashes with al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the city of Ramadi, 100 km (62 miles) west of Baghdad, February 1, 2014. Iraqi troops and allied tribesmen killed 57 Islamist militants in Anbar province on Monday, the Defence Ministry said, in advance of a possible assault on the Sunni rebel-held city of Falluja. There was no independent verification of the toll among the militants, said to be members of the

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