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Wed, 8 Jan 2014 18:49 PM

Iraqi soldiers check the trunk of a vehicle at a check point in west of Baghdad, January 8, 2014. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to eradicate al Qaeda in Iraq and predicted victory as his army prepared to launch a major assault against the Sunni Islamist militants who have taken over parts of the city of Falluja. Fighters from the al Qaeda affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is also active across the border in Syria, overran police stations in Falluja and another city in Iraq's western Anbar province last week. The campaign by al Qaeda gunmen to form a radical Islamic state in parts of Iraq and Syria has rung alarm bells in Western capitals and provided further evidence that the Syrian civil war is exporting instability throughout the region. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY)

Wed, 8 Jan 2014 18:04 PM

A wounded man walks along a street in eastern al-Ghouta, near Damascus January 8, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammed Abdullah (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT)

Wed, 8 Jan 2014 18:01 PM

Mourners carry the coffin of a victim who, according to relatives, was killed in artillery fire by the Iraqi army in the city of Falluja, 50 km (31 miles) west of Baghdad January 8, 2014. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to eradicate al Qaeda in Iraq and predicted victory as his army prepared to launch a major assault against the Sunni Islamist militants who have taken over parts of the city of Falluja. Fighters from the al Qaeda affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is also active across the border in Syria, overran police stations in Falluja and another city in Iraq's western Anbar province last week. The campaign by al Qaeda gunmen to form a radical Islamic state in parts of Iraq and Syria has rung alarm bells in Western capitals and provided further evidence that the Syrian civil war is exporting instability throughout the region. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

Wed, 8 Jan 2014 17:59 PM

Mourners pray next to the coffin of a victim who, according to relatives, was killed in artillery fire by the Iraqi army in the city of Falluja, 50 km (31 miles) west of Baghdad January 8, 2014. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to eradicate al Qaeda in Iraq and predicted victory as his army prepared to launch a major assault against the Sunni Islamist militants who have taken over parts of the city of Falluja. Fighters from the al Qaeda affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is also active across the border in Syria, overran police stations in Falluja and another city in Iraq's western Anbar province last week. The campaign by al Qaeda gunmen to form a radical Islamic state in parts of Iraq and Syria has rung alarm bells in Western capitals and provided further evidence that the Syrian civil war is exporting instability throughout the region. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

Wed, 8 Jan 2014 17:53 PM

Iraqi Sunni gunmen stand guard as civilians flee their homes, at a checkpoint in the city of Falluja, 50 km (31 miles) west of Baghdad January 8, 2014. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to eradicate al Qaeda in Iraq and predicted victory as his army prepared to launch a major assault against the Sunni Islamist militants who have taken over parts of the city of Falluja. Fighters from the al Qaeda affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is also active across the border in Syria, overran police stations in Falluja and another city in Iraq's western Anbar province last week. The campaign by al Qaeda gunmen to form a radical Islamic state in parts of Iraq and Syria has rung alarm bells in Western capitals and provided further evidence that the Syrian civil war is exporting instability throughout the region. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)