watching the Middle East is like

watching a tropical depression turn into a hurricane.

GENEVA — The onslaught of extremist Sunni militants in Iraq will have violent repercussions in Syria and could bring wider war in the Middle East, a United Nations panel warned on Tuesday.

The conflict in Syria “has reached a tipping point threatening the entire region,” the panel, the United Nations commission of inquiry on Syria, told the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Attacks in northern Iraq by forces affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the militant group leading the offensive, are likely to cause greater regional involvement in the Syrian conflict, including an influx of more foreign fighters, the panel said.

“ISIS has shown itself willing to fan the flames of sectarianism both in Iraq and Syria,” the four-member panel warned. “Any strengthening of their position gives rise to great concern.”

Vitit Muntarbhorn, a member of the panel, told reporters: “We are possibly on the cusp of a regional war. That is something we are very worried about.”