Special to WorldTribune.com

BAGHDAD — Al Qaida has expanded operations to Shi’ite-dominated southern Iraq.

Officials said Al Qaida has launched attacks in southern Iraq in an effort to relieve pressure from the military campaign in the Anbar province.

The officials said Al Qaida’s Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant was believed to
have sent cells from the Baghdad area.

“We don’t believe Al Qaida has a major presence in the south,” an official said.

On Feb. 8, Al Qaida attacked an Iraqi police patrol in the southern province of Babil.

Officials said eight ISIL fighters and a police officer were killed in an attack that began with an explosion of an improvised explosive device.

Officials said police and security forces reinforced their deployment in Babil to stop additional ISIL attacks. They said ISIL could be using Shi’ites to identify and track targets.

In February, ISIL expanded operations beyond Anbar to Salah Eddin and
other neighboring provinces. The military said it was steadily advancing
around ISIL-held cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.

  Al Qaida’s ISIL expands reach in Iraq to Shi’ite-controlled south, Babil, Fallujah, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Ramadi