As Syria erupts, Iraqi networks expand arms trafficking

Weapons traffickers are stepping up their arms purchases in Iraq's southern provinces, in a widespread smuggling effort to back the uprising in Syria.

To date, much of the Iraqi support for the Syrian uprising has come through Anbar province, a Sunni stronghold, which shares a long western border with Syria. But now that rebel network appears to be spreading into the Shiite-majority south – a development that is causing Iraqi leaders to worry that Syrian unrest is straining Iraq's sectarian tensions.