AFP reports: Members of more than 25 prominent Sunni tribes took up arms against jihadists and their allies west of the Iraqi capital Friday, a tribal leader and officers said.

The uprising in Anbar province, where jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) group and insurgent allies hold major areas, came a day after Nouri al-Maliki, the incumbent premier who is widely reviled by Iraqi Sunni Arabs, abandoned his bid for a third term.

Anbar was the birthplace of a 2006 U.S.-backed uprising against extremist militants that helped bring about a sharp reduction in violence.

The current effort could potentially be a major turning point in Iraq’s two-month conflict against an ISIS-led offensive. [Continue reading…]