Insight - Fuelled by Syria war, al Qaeda bursts back to life in Iraq

Tribal fighters who have been deployed onto the streets, patrol in the city of Falluja, 50 km (31 miles) west of Baghdad January 5, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Al Qaeda gunmen seeking to form a radical Islamic state out of the chaos of Syria's civil war are fighting hard to reconquer the province they once controlled in neighbouring Iraq, stirring fears the conflict is exporting ever more instability.

Exploiting local grievances against Baghdad's rule and buoyed by al Qaeda gains in Syria, the fighters have taken effective control of Anbar's two main cities for the first time since U.S. occupation troops defeated them in 2006-07.