From Falluja to Maghreb, a new, diffuse al Qaeda

Residents inspect the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad, January 14, 2014. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili

LONDON, Jan 16 - More than two years after the death of Osama bin Laden, the turbulent aftermath of the "Arab Spring" has helped his group - or more accurately, its offshoots and successors - gain ground.

Two weeks ago, fighters from al Qaeda affiliate the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took over much of the central Iraqi city of Falluja, reversing their defeat at the hands of U.S. forces and local tribal allies almost a decade ago.