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The article discusses assessments by U.S. and other Western officials that indicate that the Iraqi Army will be unable to effectively control a Sunni Muslim insurgency aligned with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) extremist organization as of June 23, 2014. Topics addressed include Iraqi cities that have been captured by ISIS militants, the strength of ISIS' personnel and assets, and the possibility that ISIS fighters could reach the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

The article discusses Iraqi prime minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki's decision to focus on recruiting Shiite Muslims to oppose Sunni Muslim militants aligned with Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) extremist organization who have captured a number of Iraqi cities, noting that Maliki has not focused on political reconciliation with Sunni Arabs and Kurds in Iraq. Topics addressed include Shiite politicians' concerns with Maliki's sectarian approach, as well as U.S. calls for involving the Sunnis.

The article discusses claims made by Sunni Muslim militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) extremist organization that the group had executed 1,700 Shiite Muslim Iraqi soldiers as of June 15, 2014. Topics addressed include photographs of the alleged killings that the group posted on the Internet, concerns that the claims could escalate sectarian conflict in Iraq, and the Iraqi government's response to the photographs.

The article discusses calls by Shiite Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani for Shiite Muslims in Iraq to take up armed opposition against Sunni Muslim militants aligned with extremist organization Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) who have captured a number of cities in Iraq as of June 14, 2014. Topics addressed include a possible U.S. and Iranian responses to the conflict in Iraq, as well the responses of Shiite militias and the Iraqi Army.

The article reports that Sunni insurgent groups in Iraq have begun a campaign of targeted assassinations of Iraqi government officials, especially police. At least 10 such attacks were staged on September 24-25, 2007, and scores of persons were killed, including two police chiefs. The two largest attacks were on meetings of tribal leaders and government officials to plan strategies against the insurgents.