Iraqi tribes in bind over Syria arms
Many Iraqis in the tribal region that runs through this border town share family ties, tribal bonds and sympathies with opposition fighters just over the border in Syria. But their leaders worry that an expanding cross-border arms trade here is re-energizing a radical group they say they have only just brought under relative control—al Qaeda […]Sam Dagher reports for the Wall Street Journal:
Many Iraqis in the tribal region that runs through this border town share family ties, tribal bonds and sympathies with opposition fighters just over the border in Syria. But their leaders worry that an expanding cross-border arms trade here is re-energizing a radical group they say they have only just brought under relative control—al Qaeda in Iraq.
Weapons and ammunition are already flowing in small quantities from this Sunni majority area to Syrian fighters who are arming up against President Bashar al-Assad, according to local officials and tribesmen.
