Iraq

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Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has positioned about 3,000 ISIL fighters in Iraq and some 7,000 in Syria, officials say. (Associated Press)

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Illustration on the collapse of peace in Iraq by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

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Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take their position along the front line with militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Demonstrating their growing independence from the rest of Iraq, the largely autonomous Kurdish regional government is setting up dirt barriers that it hopes ultimately will set the borders of a future state. (Associated Press)

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Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida favors a more aggressive U.S. military campaign to combat Islamic militants in Iraq. (Associated Press)

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Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, left, favors a more aggressive U.S. military campaign to combat Islamic militants in Iraq. Meanwhile, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky says that the U.S. should stay out of Iraq, and that previous military action has emboldened extremists. (associated press)