Islamic State militants kill 25 Iraqi tribesmen during assault on Ramadi
Bodies were discovered after Iraqi army launched counter-offensive against Isis near capital of Anbar province
Saturday 22 November 2014
Islamic State (Isis) militants have killed 25 members of a Sunni Muslim tribe during their assault on a provincial capital west of Baghdad in apparent revenge for tribal opposition to the terrorist group.
The bodies of the men from the Albu Fahd clan, which is taking part in the fight against the militant Islamists, were discovered after the Iraqi army launched a counter-offensive on Saturday against Isis on the eastern edge of Ramadi, capital of Anbar province, according to local officials.
The killings followed the execution of hundreds of members of the Albu Nimr clan last month by Islamic State fighters trying to break local resistance to their advances in Anbar, a Sunni Muslim province they have largely controlled for nearly a year.
The counter-offensive by Iraqi army soldiers and Sunni fighters in Ramadi aims to retake the city’s eastern Sijariya neighbourhood, which Isis said it captured on Friday.
An official with the Anbar provincial council described intense fighting on Saturday morning that included both sides firing mortars.
Elsewhere on Saturday, police and hospital officials said two bombings around Baghdad killed eight people and wounded 21.
