Mustafa al-Ani

The death of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's second-in-command, Saeed al-Shehri, has dealt a severe blow to what Washington considers the global jihadist franchise's deadliest branch, analysts say.

Qatar's call for Arab military intervention in Syria would be difficult to achieve practically and politically, and would risk dragging the region into an all-out conflict, analysts say.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The killing of al Qaeda's top two leaders in Iraq this week extends a string of smaller successes that may be eroding the group's ability to threaten security, military officials and analysts said on Thursday.

Key Sunni group to boycott Iraq's March election in move likely to undermine vote credibility. A top Sunni Arab lawmaker banned from running in Iraq's March 7 election withdrew his entire party from the campaign Saturday and called on other groups to join the boycott, a move that threatened to undermine the credibility of the vote and raise sectarian tensions.

Iraq's changing politics: US-backed Sunni clan chief seeks partnership with Shiite premier. The Abu Risha clan paid a heavy price in the uprising against al-Qaida that helped turn the tide of the Iraq war: 30 relatives were killed, including their leader.