Clash in Karbala Hints of Complexity of Iraq’s Ongoing Internal Conflict

• Iraqi forces clashed with a militia following a local Shia cleric in Karbala, south of Baghdad. Prime Minister Maliki seems to be losing support even from his Shia backers.

• Meanwhile fighting against ISIL continued in the north in several contested areas of strategic significance.

• The sites for these clashes are familiar and echo fights that took place after the First Gulf War.

• Like Jordan, Saudi Arabia is deploying troops along its border with Iraq.