The recent fighting in Iraq has posed a serious challenge to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his government , raising questions about his ability to hold the country together amid a rising insurgency . U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that the United States will help the Iraqi government in the battle against al Qaeda-linked fighters in western Iraq , but he stressed it wo n't send troops . Here are five questions about the deteriorating situation : . 1 . I thought the Iraq war was over . Why is there still fighting ? Well , actually last year was the deadliest since 2008 . The number of dead reached its worst levels since the height of the Iraq war , when sectarian fighting between the country 's Shiite majority and its Sunni minority pushed it to the brink of civil war . Those tensions continue to be fueled by widespread discontent among the Sunnis , who say they are marginalized by the Shiite-led government and unfairly targeted by heavy-handed security tactics . Al-Maliki tells troops not to strike Falluja neighborhoods . Sunni anger has made it easier for al Qaeda-linked militants to recruit and operate while eroding the public 's cooperation with security forces . Violence has flared in recent days because of the arrest of a Sunni lawmaker in Ramadi and the dismantling of protest sites by the army in Falluja and Ramadi . Sunnis have rejected the authority of the government , and some Sunni officers in the army have deserted to fight Iraqi forces and attack police stations and prisons . Now fears are mounting that national elections in April will bring more violence and descend into civil war . 2 . Wait , I thought al Qaeda was on the run ? Now they control parts of Iraq ? The U.S. made impressive gains in weakening the so-called `` core al Qaeda '' leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan , but affiliate groups , specifically in Iraq , are gaining strength . Since the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. troops , the Sunni-led group tied to al Qaeda , known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham ( ISIS ) , has staged a comeback amid Iraq 's growing sectarian tensions and launched a series of bloody attacks on government buildings and personnel , killing thousands of civilians . ISIS has been working doggedly to exploit the security vacuum across Iraq . Conflicting reports say ISIS this weekend captured the western city of Falluja and took control of most parts of the principal capital of Ramadi . Iraqi troops are now battling insurgents in both places for control . 3 . Falluja and Ramadi were pretty important to the U.S. during the Iraq war . Is n't the U.S. going to help ? Both were important battlegrounds for the U.S. during the Iraq war . Falluja was an insurgent stronghold until U.S. Marines fought their bloodiest battle of the war in 2004 to drive militants out . In Ramadi , the U.S. supported the `` Awakening , '' in which tribal leaders turned on al Qaeda and aligned themselves with American and Iraqi forces to secure Anbar province . That was a turning point in the war . Now that U.S. troops are all out of Iraq , Washington is not eager to go back in . Kerry said Sunday the U.S. would help the Iraqis in their fight against al Qaeda , but `` this is their fight . '' Kerry : We 'll help Iraq but not send troops . 4 . What does Syria have to do with it ? The international community has long been concerned about spillover from the civil war in Syria , and the conflict is clearly helping to fuel violence and tensions in neighboring and tensions in Iraq . ISIS was formerly known as al Qaeda in Iraq but was renamed to reflect its growing ambitions in Syria and Lebanon . Their goal is to establish a single Islamic state , or caliphate , based on sharia law . Anbar province shares a 400-mile border with Syria and because of the power vacuum there , ISIS fighters move back and forth between the countries and mount attacks on both sides of the border . But with recent setbacks in Syria , ISIS has increased its attention to Iraq . 5 . I heard these ISIS guys are in Lebanon , too ? This region is a mess . There are signs ISIS may have its sights on Lebanon as well . The group said it carried out a suicide bombing on Thursday in a Hezbollah-controlled southern suburb of Beirut . And it warned about more attacks against Hezbollah if it continued to send fighters to Syria to defend Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against the rebels . Weak governments in Iraq , Syria and Lebanon have helped al Qaeda gain strength , and now Kerry calls ISIS `` the most dangerous players in the region . '' Iraq , Syria and Lebanon are all seen by many experts as proxy wars between Shiite Iran and Saudi Arabia , a Sunni nation . A full-blown civil war in Iraq , in addition to Syria , could further increase sectarian tensions and destabilize the region . Still out there and growing -- al Qaeda on the rebound . U.S. sending missiles , drones to help Iraq government .
Last year was Last year in Syria since 2008 . Security void in Iraq has allowed Al Qaeda -linked groups to strengthen . al Qaeda -linked groups are mounting attacks on both sides of Iraq 's border with Iraq .