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BAGHDAD (AP) — Sunni militants on Sunday captured two border crossings, one along the frontier with Jordan and the other with Syria, security and military officials said, as they pressed on with their offensive in one of Iraq's most restive regions.

The fall dealt Iraq's embattled Shiite prime minister a further blow and brought the war to the doorstep of Jordan, a key ally of the United States that also borders embattled Syria to its north.

The blitz by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Iraq's vast western desert take the al-Qaida-breakaway group closer to its dream of carving out a purist Islamic state straddling both Syria and Iraq.

Controlling the borders with Syria will also help it supply fellow fighters in Syria with weaponry looted from Iraqi warehouses, significantly reinforcing its ability to battle beleaguered Syrian government forces.

If they succeed in their quest, they could further unsettle the already volatile Middle East and serve as a magnet for Jihadists from across the world — much like al-Qaida attracted extremists in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

The Iraqi officials said the militants of the Islamic State took over the Turaibil crossing with Jordan and the al-Walid crossing with Syria after government forces there pulled out.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The capture of the two crossings follows the fall on Friday and Saturday of the towns of Qaim, Rawah, Anah and Rutba They are all in the Sunni dominated Anbar province, where the militants have since January controlled the city of Fallujah and parts of the provincial capital Ramadi.

Rutba is on the main highway from Baghdad to the two border crossing and the capture has effectively cut the Iraqi capital's main land route to Jordan. It is a key artery for passengers and goods and has been infrequently used in recent months because of deteriorating security.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said he was opposed to any U.S. intervention in the Iraqi crisis, accusing Washington of fomenting the unrest. His comments appeared to quash recent speculation that the two rivals might cooperate in addressing the shared threat posed by the Islamic extremists.

The two crossings and the four towns are the first seized in Anbar since the Islamic State and its allies overran the city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi. Government troops have not been able to dislodge them after months of fighting.

The capture of Rawah on the Euphrates River and the nearby town of Anah appeared to be part of a march toward a key dam in the city of Haditha, the destruction of which would damage the country's electrical grid and cause major flooding. The dam was built in 1986.

Iraqi military officials said more than 2,000 troops were quickly dispatched to the site of the Haditha dam to protect it. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Chief military spokesman, Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, acknowledged the fall of the Anbar towns, saying government forces had made a tactical retreat and planned to retake them. He provided no further details. There has been no official comment on the capture of the al-Walid and Turaibil crossings.

The Islamic State and allied militants have carved out a large fiefdom along the Iraqi-Syrian border.

Al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government has struggled to push back against the Sunni militants, who have seized large swaths of the north since taking control of the second-largest city of Mosul on June 10.

Iraq has requested U.S. airstrikes to help halt the advance, but President Barack Obama has yet to order any. He has instead called on Iraqi leaders to form a more representative government in thinly-veiled criticism of al-Maliki.

Khamenei on Sunday said he was opposed to any U.S. intervention in the country.

"We strongly oppose the intervention of the U.S. and others in the domestic affairs of Iraq," Khamenei, who has the final say over state policy, was quoted as saying by the IRNA state news agency, in his first reaction to the crisis.

"The main dispute in Iraq is between those who want Iraq to join the U.S. camp and those who seek an independent Iraq," said Khamenei. "The U.S. aims to bring its own blind followers to power."

The U.S. has long accused Iran of meddling in Iraq, including organizing and backing Shiite militias following the 2003 invasion.

Al-Maliki, who has led the country since 2006 and has not yet secured a third term after April's parliamentary elections, has increasingly turned to Iranian-backed Shiite militias and volunteers to bolster his beleaguered security forces.

Thousands of Shiite militiamen paraded through Baghdad and other cities on Saturday, brandishing a massive arsenal in a show of force that promised to ramp up sectarian tensions.

Al-Maliki has come under growing pressure to reach out to disaffected Kurds and Sunnis, with many blaming his failure to promote reconciliation for the country's worst crisis since the U.S. military withdrew in late 2011.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most respected voice for Iraq's Shiite majority, on Friday joined calls for al-Maliki to reach out to the Kurdish and Sunni minorities.

The U.S. has been drawn back into the conflict. It is deploying up to 300 military advisers to join some 275 troops in and around Iraq to provide security and support for the U.S. Embassy and other American interests.

President Barack Obama, in an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation" airing Sunday, warned that the al-Qaida-inspired militants in Iraq could grow in power and destabilize the region.

He said Washington must remain "vigilant" but would not "play whack-a-mole and send US troops occupying various countries wherever these organizations pop up."

Iraq enjoyed several years of relative calm before violence spiked a year ago after al-Maliki moved to crush a Sunni protest movement against alleged discrimination and abuse at the hands of his government and security forces.

In a separate incident on Sunday, Sunni militants in control of a small northern town handed over to authorities in the northern oil city of Kirkuk the decomposing bodies of 15 Shiites, according to the city's deputy police chief Maj. Gen. Torhan Abdul-Rahman Youssef.

Residents of the town, Besher, said the Shiites were hung from street lights and a water tank for days. The circumstances of their deaths were not immediately known and the residents requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.

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Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran contributed to this report.

CAIRO (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday made the highest-level American visit to Egypt since President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi took office as Washington presses the former army chief to adopt more moderate policies.

Economic and security problems are undermining Egypt's stability, and Kerry's visit signals an attempt by the Obama administration to thaw a relationship with a longtime Mideast ally that has cooled in recent years during the country's political turmoil.

"For Egypt, this is also a moment of high stakes as well as a moment of great opportunity," Kerry told reporters after meeting el-Sissi. Kerry then headed to Jordan as he began a weeklong trip to the Mideast and Europe.

Kerry said Egyptians want better economic opportunities, greater freedoms, a free press and the rule of law.

"We talked about that today and I think we really found ourselves on a similar page of changes that have yet to be made, promises that have yet to be fulfilled, but of a serious sense of purpose and commitment by both of us to try to help achieve those goals," he said.

Over the last year, in particular, the U.S. has watched warily as Cairo has outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political opposition group that was ousted from power last July.

U.S. officials cite hard-line policies — including the sentencing of hundreds of people to death in trials lasting only a few hours, and the jailing of journalists — in refusing to fund all of the $1.5 billion in military and economic aid that Washington usually sends to Cairo each year.

The U.S. reluctance has fueled frustration among Egyptians who accuse the Obama administration of favoring the Muslim Brotherhood and starving Cairo of help at a time when the country's economy and security are at risk.

Earlier this month, the U.S. quietly agreed to send an estimated $572 million to Egypt in military and security assistance on top of $200 million in economic aid already delivered. But Egypt is still calling for the U.S. to send the rest of its annual $1.5 billion in aid, most of it for the military, which has been suspended until Washington believes Cairo is committed to democracy.

Officials say they have seen some small encouraging signs that el-Sissi is prepared to protect Egyptians' rights. They cite the issuing of tough penalties for sexual assault against women and the freeing a jailed journalist who works for the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera TV.

Kerry said he discussed these issues with el-Sissi, adding that the president promised reviews of human rights issues and legislation. Kerry also the Obama administration is working with the U.S. Congress to sort out differences over the rest of the money designated for Egypt.

"I'm confident that we will be able to ultimately get the full amount of aid," Kerry said.

But the U.S. remains concerned about the Cairo government's crackdown against the Brotherhood, which Washington considers a political threat to el-Sissi — not a security risk to Egypt.

The government's security crackdown has targeted secularists and Brotherhood supporters who have protested against its heavy-handed policies. Some youth leaders who were at the forefront of the 2001 uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak and who also opposed his successor, Mohammed Morsi, are now languishing behind bars, mostly for violating a law that has restricted any public gatherings.

The president was sworn in earlier this month after leading a revolt last summer against former Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader who was the nation's first freely elected leader. Since Morsi's ouster, the Brotherhood has responded with protests that have turned into violent clashes between demonstrators and government security forces.

A Brotherhood spokesman said the group sees "no political process whatsoever in Egypt" to participate in and that Morsi's removal from office was a coup.

The U.S. wants el-Sissi to build a more inclusive government, and that largely means lifting the ban on the Brotherhood and allowing it to participate in the political process.

Egypt is also facing a growing jihadi threat in the Sinai Peninsula, where militants are thriving on a flood of heavy weapons easily smuggled from Libya.

The security problems have contributed to a severe slowing of Egypt's tourism industry that began in early 2011 when a popular uprising overthrew Mubarak, president for three decades.

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Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb contributed to this report.

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Follow Lara Jakes on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/larajakesAP

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The West Coast ports that are America's gateway for hundreds of billions of dollars of trade with Asia and beyond are no stranger to labor unrest and even violence.

Now, the contract that covers nearly 20,000 dockworkers is set to expire, and businesses that trade in everything from apples to iPhones are worried about disruptions just as the crush of cargo for the back-to-school and holiday seasons begins.

With contentious issues including benefits and job security on the table, smooth sailing is no guarantee.

On one side is the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, with its tradition of fierce activism dating to the Great Depression, when two of its members were killed during a strike. On the other is the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents shipping lines and operators of terminals at 29 West Coast ports.

Both acknowledge that they are unlikely to agree on a new contract before the current one expires June 30, but they plan to negotiate past that deadline. That would fit the pattern from contract talks in 2008 and 2002. In 2002, negotiators didn't reach an agreement until around Thanksgiving, following an impasse that led to a 10-day lockout and a big disruption in trade.

The union's total control over the labor pool means huge bargaining leverage, which negotiators have parlayed into white-collar wages and perks for blue-collar work. A full-time longshoreman earns about $130,000 a year, while foremen earn about $210,000, according to employer data. Workers pay nearly nothing for health coverage that includes no premiums and $1 prescriptions.

Neither side has publicly discussed progress on negotiations that began May 12 in San Francisco, which is headquarters to the union and the maritime association.

Twelve years ago, the shutdown had a lasting impact on how products moved in and out of the United States. Hulking cranes idled. Ships anchored in San Francisco Bay and outside ports from Los Angeles to Seattle. Economists estimated the impact at $1 billion each day.

Even after trade resumed, retailers — with their just-in-time supply chain — worried that West Coast ports risked becoming a bottleneck. Companies looked to Gulf Coast and East Coast ports, which courted them by upgrading facilities.

"They can't afford to have their goods hung up either out on the sea or on the docks," said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation.

Between 2002 and last year, the portion of shipping containers that came into the U.S. through West Coast ports dropped from 50 percent to 44 percent, according to a study by Martin Associates, a firm that analyzes transportation systems. Imports to the Gulf of Mexico and the Northeast increased.

Even so, West Coast ports handled cargo worth $892 billion in 2013 alone, according to trade data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Worries over the current negotiations have prompted some stores to route shipments away from the West Coast, Gold said. Other importers planning for fall and winter shopping have shipped early to beat the contract's expiration date.

The maritime association warns that labor peace is essential to keeping West Coast ports competitive, especially with an expansion of the Panama Canal that will allow larger vessels to reach East Coast markets directly.

The union is not persuaded, at least not publicly.

"The competitiveness argument is an old saw that gets trotted out every time there's a negotiation," said union spokesman Craig Merrilees. "The claim has generally been used in an effort to extract concessions from the union members."

One area where the Pacific Maritime Association is looking for concessions is benefits. According to the PMA, the cost of benefits more than doubled over the past decade, reaching $93,200 per registered worker in fiscal year 2013.

During these negotiations, a new incentive is in play: In 2018, a 40 percent tax on the value of "Cadillac" health plans above a certain threshold kicks in under the Affordable Care Act — and the union's coverage qualifies.

Last July, workers and retirees picketed in Long Beach and in Tacoma, Washington, complaining that some families were shouldering tens of thousands of medical bills the health plan was not paying.

Employers said legitimate claims were being paid, but they were scrutinizing tens of millions of dollars of treatments that were likely fraudulent, including phantom appointments and charges for cosmetic surgery.

Other bargaining issues include what jobs will remain under union control, the introduction of technology that could make some jobs obsolete, and on-the-job safety measures.

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Contact Justin Pritchard at https://twitter.com/lalanewsman .

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