Out of concern of spillover from the Syrian conflict.
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The CIA is going to escalate support for Iraqi antiterrorism units in the hopes of arming them against al Qaeda operatives. The U.S. is apparently stepping up the mission out of concern for potential spillover from the neighboring Syrian civil war. The Iraqi al Qaeda affiliate is known to have close ties to a militant group controlling parts of northern Syria. According to The Wall Street Journal, the White House secretly called for CIA support to Iraq’s Counterterrorism Service between 2011 and late 2012.
