Iraqi security forces and allied tribesmen on Thursday battled al Qaeda-linked gunmen who ran rampant in two main Sunni cities, emboldened by mounting sectarian tensions between minority Sunnis and the Shiite-led government. The al Qaeda branch, known as the Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham, appeared to be trying to exploit Sunni anger after Iraqi police broke up a Sunni protest camp in Ramadi on Monday, leaving at least 13 people dead, and authorities arrested a senior Sunni politician accused of terrorism. Those moves added new fuel to sectarian violence that has escalated since the American withdrawal. Tension has been running high in the Sunni-dominated province of Anbar since thousands of antigovernment tribal fighters took over local government buildings in Fallujah and Ramadi on Wednesday after the army pulled back in an attempt to calm the situation. Soon after the pullout, militants launched the simultaneous assaults in Ramadi, […]