Iraq Violence Drops as al-Qaeda Heads to Syria

Nineveh Province Attacks Dropping Significantly

In-depth Report:

The growing Syrian Civil War appears to be doing what eight and a half years of US military operation could not: it is making Iraq’s Sunni provinces quiet again. Iraqi officials say violence is dropping significantly, particularly in the Nineveh Provincial capital of Mosul, as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) fighters are pouring into Syria.

Last week, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri released a video calling for Muslims in neighboring countries to join the uprising against Syria’s Assad government. Though AQI was already sending fighters before this, reports suggest that the rate has increased dramatically.

Bad news for Syria, but good news for Iraq’s Maliki government, which is facing its own political fallout with its Sunni Arabs. Al-Qaeda has joined the Arab League, Turkey and others in trying to back rebel groups in Syria, apparently with an eye toward installing a more favorable government.

Iraq is said to be trying to increase security along its border with Syria to prevent the flow of fighters back and forth, but with reports that violence in Nineveh is down some 50% since autumn it seems that the traffic has been overwhelmingly into Syria, and attempts to stop that have been unsuccessful.

The Red Cross is attempting to negotiate a ceasefire in Syria, calling for both sides to halt attacks to allow humanitarian aid into the nation. It is unclear how far such efforts have gotten.

Meanwhile, Gen. Martin Dempsey denied that the US was planning to arm Syria’s rebels, despite public calls yesterday from Sen. John McCain (R – AZ) and others to do so. He warned that it was “premature” to start sending arms to the nation.


Articles by: Jason Ditz

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. The Centre of Research on Globalization grants permission to cross-post Global Research articles on community internet sites as long the source and copyright are acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original Global Research article. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [email protected]

www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.

For media inquiries: [email protected]