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Militias oversee spiking violence in Diyala

Shia militias who chased Islamic State militants from Diyala province are being blamed for intensifying sectarian violence, including the assassination of two aides to the governor.
Hadi al-Amiri (R), the head of the Badr Organization, speaks with officers on the outskirts of Muqdadiyah, in Diyala province, on Jan. 23, 2015. (STRINGER/Reuters)

BAQUBA - Assassins have killed two top officials working for Diyala Governor Amer al-Majmaie'e – the latest sign of the Iraqi state's tenuous grip on security in a province where Shia militias have grown in power over the past year.

"The assassination… came as a political message addressed to the Iraqiya bloc and other Sunni blocs in Diyala, saying that no one is immune from assassination or targeting," said Hamid Jameel, a political analyst in Diyala. "Undoubtedly the operation bore the fingerprints of militias in terms of style and implementation."

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