---
From the very beginning, the largest Iraqi province of Anbar has been an ISIS stronghold. At one time, the terror group controlled an estimated 60% to 80% of the territory, but now it controls 90%. Only Abu Ghraib remains to be captured. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi gave the order Monday morning to use Shia militias here.
Religious sects side by side
At midday the checkpoints are already manned by mixed forces. Sunnis and Shias are serving together. This was not planned, as the mostly Sunni province of Anbar doesn't like to harbor Shias. This is mainly because former Shia Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki excluded Sunnis from many of the political processes and even manned the army with mostly Shia men. The yearlong peaceful protests were ignored, their demands deflected. In the end, the Sunni men joined ISIS in Anbar to fight the government in Baghdad. The battle for Anbar was declared to be a Sunni affair. But the situation has grown so grave that the prime minister has now deployed all available forces.
It appears that he is aware of the danger his decision brings. To avoid religious conflict breaking out again, Abadi had signs erected in Abu Ghraib and other places alerting residents to the presence of the Shia militias. "We serve all Iraqis," Sunni religious leaders declare.
Even the prime minister seems keen to avoid an escalation. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 there were many bloody confrontations in Baghdad between the religious groups, and it has been widely proclaimed to be a civil war. Thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands fled their homes. Now, ISIS is attempting to reanimate this religious conflict by denouncing the Shias as infidels who should be killed.
http://www.worldcrunch.com/rss/world-affairs/on-the-iraqi-front-line-as-isis-aims-for-abu-ghraib/report-middle-east-war-terrorism-islamic-state/c1s18878/
= new reply since forum marked as read
