In this photo taken Friday, May 9, 2014, shoppers buy fresh vegetables in Jamila market in Baghdad, Iraq. Fighting in Iraqs western Anbar province, now in its fifth month, appears to have bogged down, with government forces unable to drive out Islamic militants who took over one of the areas main cities. But the impact is being felt much further, with the repercussions rippling through the countrys economy to hit consumers and businesses. Fighting has also disrupted shipping, inflating prices of goods in Baghdad and elsewhere. (AP Photo/ Karim Kadim)The Associated Press
FILE -- This undated file image posted on a militant website on Jan. 4, 2014, which is consistent with other AP reporting, shows Shakir Waheib, a senior member of the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), left, next to a burning police vehicle in Iraq's Anbar Province. The large, desert province of Anbar is a major crossroads. The main highways linking Baghdad and other parts of Iraq to Syria and Jordan run through it. So fighting has not only dislodged thousands of residents from their homes and forced shutdowns of their businesses. It has also disrupted shipping, inflating prices of goods in Baghdad and elsewhere. (AP Photo via militant website, File)The Associated Press
FILE -- In this file picture taken on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014, Iraqi Security forces prepare to attack al-Qaida positions in Ramadi, 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq. Militants, many from the al-Qaida-breakaway group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, overran Fallujah and parts of Anbars capital, Ramadi, at the beginning of 2014, taking advantage of tensions between the Sunni community, which dominates Anbar, and the Shiite-led central government. Since then, government forces backed by Sunni tribal fighters opposed to al-Qaida have battled the militants with little success. (AP Photo, File)The Associated Press
FILE -- In this Monday, April 28, 2014 file photo, masked anti-government gunmen move with their weapons as they patrol in Fallujah, Iraq. Militants, many from the al-Qaida-breakaway group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, overran Fallujah and parts of Anbars capital, Ramadi, at the beginning of the year, taking advantage of tensions between the Sunni community, which dominates Anbar, and the Shiite-led central government. Fighting has dislodged thousands of residents from their homes and forced shutdowns of their businesses. (AP Photo, File)The Associated Press
FILE -- In this Saturday, March 29, 2014 file photo, a member of the Iraqi navy stands guard while an oil tanker loads crude oil at Iraq's Al-Basra Offshore Terminal, Iraq. Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told The Associated Press that the government has stopped shipping the 10,000 to 12,000 barrels a day of oil it sells to Jordan at preferential rates because the only route for sending it --by truck down the Baghdad-Amman highway -- has become too dangerous. Jihad also said insurgent attacks against the main oil pipeline that sends oil to international market through Turkeys Mediterranean port of Ceyhan have left it idle since March. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani, File)The Associated Press
BAGHDAD Fighting in Iraq's western Anbar province, now in its fifth month, appears to have bogged down, with government forces unable to drive out Islamic militants who took over one of the area's main cities. But the impact is being felt much further, with the repercussions rippling through the country's economy to hit consumers and businesses.
The large, desert province is a major crossroads. The main highways linking Baghdad and other parts of Iraq to Syria and Jordan run through it. So fighting has not only dislodged thousands of residents from their homes and forced shutdowns of their businesses. It has also disrupted shipping, inflating prices of goods in Baghdad and elsewhere. Fears of the road have gotten so bad Iraq has had to stop shipments of oil to Jordan.
Anwar Salah, co-owner of al-Baqiee travel agency in Baghdad, said his company used to run more than 13 trips a day by SUVs shuttling passengers between Baghdad and the Jordanian capital, Amman.
Now people avoid the highway, which runs near the flashpoint Anbar cities of Fallujah and Anbar, fearing militant checkpoints or clashes. So his firm is down to one trip every other day, and profits have plunged by 90 percent, he said.
"Most of the drivers who used to work for me are now either jobless or working in other professions," he said. "We are part of the country's miserable situation."
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Months-long fighting in Iraq's Anbar province hits business, adds more woes to Iraqi life