Islamic State carves jihadist hub in heart of Middle East
 

(Repeats with ** change to text) * U.S. air strikes **t e**ugh to turn tide in Iraq * Islamic State recruiting magnet for disenchanted Sunnis * Limits to U.S. intervention in Syria emboldened militants * Strategic stakes high for United States, regional allies By Samia Nakhoul BEIRUT, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Ridiculed at first, the new power which has seized a third of Iraq and triggered the first American air strikes since the U.S. troop withdrawal in 2011 - has carved itself a powerful and possibly lasting presence in the Middle East. The bombing of fighters of the Sunni Islamic State is unlikely to turn around Iraq and its fragmented condition has given the self-proclaimed caliphate the opportunity to establish a hub of jihadism in the heart of the Arab world. To confront the Islamic State storming through the villages of eastern Syria and western Iraq, an international coalition sanctioned by the United Nations would need to be set up, analysts in and outside the Gulf region said.

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