Reports from Iraq say armed groups have seized parts of the western cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.
Fighting erupted in Anbar Province on December 30 after security forces tore down a protest camp near Ramadi, inflaming simmering tensions between local Sunni Arabs and the Shi’ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Security forces have since withdrawn from some areas of Ramadi and Fallujah.
AFP news agency quoted an Interior Ministry official as saying on January 2 that half of Fallujah was in the hands of an Al-Qaeda-linked group, the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant.