Bodies of anti-ISIL Sunni tribesmen found in Iraq’s Anbar

Sheikh Naim al-Kaoud, leader of the Sunni Albu Nimr tribe, said the 16 dead bodies had been found in a location about 10 kilometers north of the town of Hit in Anbar, where the kidnappings took place last week.
 
Medical reports indicated that the victims had been shot in the head and chest.
 
The Sunni tribe has been helping the Iraqi army in its battle against the ISIL extremists operating in the restive Anbar province. In response, the terror group has killed hundreds of Albu Nimr tribesmen in recent months.
 
    Hashem Haboub, a political analyst, said the ISIL terrorists launch violent attacks against the tribesmen who support government forces in their anti-terror operations, adding, “I believe those executions are taking place because the [ISIL] group is trying to cover its failure in the battlefield.”
 
Human rights groups in Iraq consider the mass killings of Albu Nimr tribesmen as genocide.
 
Adnan Sarraj, another political commentator, described Albu Nimr as a “patriotic” tribe, adding that its members have “always stood in the face of terrorism. Attacking this tribe comes after ISIL failure in the battles.”
 
Iraqi army soldiers, backed by volunteer forces, have been fighting the ISIL for nearly six months now.
 
Anbar province, which borders war-ravaged Syria, has been a major stronghold of the ISIL elements and continues to be largely controlled by the extremist terror group.
 
The ISIL militants, who have seized large swathes of land in Iraq and neighboring Syria, have been carrying out horrific acts of violence, including public decapitations and crucifixions, against all communities such as Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians, in both Arab states.