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12/22/2024 09:28:58 am

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IS Kills 322 Iraqi Tribe Members In Worst Bloodshed In Months

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(Photo : Reuters / Alaa Al-Marjani) Shi'ite volunteers secure the area from predominantly Sunni militants from the Islamic State, previously called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in the desert region between Kerbala and Najaf, south of Baghdad, July 3, 2014.

The Islamic State (IS) militants quenched their thirst for blood by killing 322 Iraqi tribe members over the weekend. Not content with the murder, members of the group also dumped some of the corpses of their victims in a well in western Anbar province.

It is considered the worst incident of bloodshed in Iraq since the Sunnis took control of parts of northern Iraq in June as it sought to fulfill its desire to put up a caliphate in the country and neighbor Syria. The killings were ongoing through Sunday, Globe and Mail reports.

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Sheik Naeem al-Ga'oud, one of the tribal leaders, recounted that 75 of his tribe members were hunted by the IS fighters, executed and their bodies were thrown near Haditha town.

Iraq's Ministry of Human Rights disclosed that 50 bodies were thrown inside the well, while the militants also captured 65 Albu Nimr tribe members, and 50 were killed.

Tribe members, who are also Sunnis, had been battling the IS militants for weeks but appear to be on the losing end due to low food, petrol and ammunition supply, while the IS extremists are closing in on their community.

Following reports of the mass murder, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the country's military to conduct airstrikes on the IS in the town of Hit.

With the weakening of the Anbars, who previously assisted the American marines win over al Qaeda, it dashes hope of the government that the Sunni tribesmen could help in the war it is waging against the IS.

The capture of Anbar by IS militants is expected to further consolidate IS power, which now controls Euphrates River Valley towns populated by the Sunnis and makes it easier for the armed militants to reach Baghdad and take over it as well.

Bloomberg reports that the Defense Ministry had airdropped food and other humanitarian supplies to Albu Nimr tribe members who hastily evacuated Hit.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council issued a statement condemning the latest incidence of violence and bloodshed in war-torn Iraq.

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