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Iraq's western Anbar province getting back on its feet, eyeing autonomy

Iraq’s Sunni-majority Anbar province has in recent months completed a number of infrastructure works in the hope of attracting more investment as the US troops' presence winds down, amid debate over the possibility of carving out an autonomous region.
A man drives a group of pupils to school in al-Qaim in the Iraqi Anbar province, opposite Albu Kamal in Syria's Deir Ezzor region, on November 13, 2018. - Iraqi troops have reinforced their positions along the porous frontier with neighbouring war-torn Syria, fearing a spillover from clashes there between the Islamic State (IS) group and US-backed forces. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)        (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Three years after the last city held by the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq fell to Iraqi troops with the help of international coalition support, a bleak economic situation with low oil prices and continuing regional instability have for the most part blighted hopes for the rapid reconstruction of areas severely damaged by IS or during the fighting to defeat it.

However, a number of projects have recently been completed in Iraq’s largest and westernmost Anbar province, one of the worst hit by both IS violence and the battles to rid the country of the transnational terrorist group. Others are underway.

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