Map of Middle East redrawn by desperate struggle against Isis
Tom Coghlan, Sofia Barbarani, Hugh Tomlinson, Sara Elizabeth Williams, Hannah Lucinda Smith
In the thin, deserted alleys of Baqofah, an ancient Assyrian town retaken from Islamic State, a local Christian militia holds sway. With a few dozen old weapons and the support of peshmerga forces, its members vow to defend their land against all comers.
Yet, south of Baghdad, efforts to co-opt Sunni tribes into Iraq’s fight against Isis have all but collapsed. In Syria, the only modest advance by western-backed rebels has been achieved with the help of al-Qaeda-backed jihadists — the same group in the firing line of US bombers in the north of the country.
The war consuming Iraq and
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article4272698.ece