IS planning to step up attacks in Iraq's 'fragile regions'

Attacks have already increased sharply, mostly confined to the territory separating the Kurdistan Region from the rest of Iraq, following the US withdrawal in late September

Rustum Mahmud

The Brothers and the Emirates

[caption id="attachment_55238298" align="aligncenter" width="620"] A Mosque sits between office blocks in downtown Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. SOURCE: David Davies/PA Archive/Press Association…

Abdullah Al-Rashid

Selective Silence in Sana'a

[caption id="attachment_55238268" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Sana'a, Yemen. June 12, 2012—Kalashnikovs belonging to Yemeni tribal leaders meeting to resolve local feuds. SOURCE: Sniperphoto…

Nasser Arrabyee

Who Done It?

[caption id="attachment_55238259" align="alignnone" width="620"] Black smoke rises into the sky just after a bus with Israeli tourists is bombed in Burgas, Bulgaria on July 18 2012. The Bulgarian…

James Spencer

Mali and the Maghreb

[caption id="attachment_55238214" align="alignnone" width="620"] A man collects cartridge cases at a damaged police station after Islamist gunmen battled French and Malian troops. Source: PASCAL…

Ahmed El Amraoui

Wounded Revolution

[caption id="attachment_55238180" align="alignnone" width="620"] Tunisians carry the coffin of assassinated opposition leader Chokri Belaid. Source: FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images[/caption] A second…

Youssef Cherif

Erdoğan’s Syrian Quandary

[caption id="attachment_55238161" align="alignnone" width="620"] Syrian refugees gathered as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (not pictured) speaks during a meeting at Akçakale Refugee…

Karabekir Akkoyunlu

Ode to Mubarak

[caption id="attachment_55238121" align="alignnone" width="620"] An Egyptian riot policeman hits a protester during clashes near Cairo’s Tahrir Square on January 28, 2013. Source: MOHAMMED ABED/AFP…

Wessam Sherif

Hagel’s Trial By Fire

[caption id="attachment_55237946" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Former US Senator Chuck Hagel testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing to become the…

Stephen Glain

Jihadi Opportunism

[caption id="attachment_55237952" align="alignnone" width="604"] Children playing next to a board reading, "Timbuktu is founded on Islam and will be judged by Islamic laws (Shari'a)", on January 31,…

Alia Brahimi

Hillary's Uncertain Legacy

[caption id="attachment_55237860" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers her farewell address in the lobby of the State Department on February 1, 2013…

Caryle Murphy