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Islamic State: Militants kill 50 from Iraqi Anbar tribe Islamic State: Militants kill 50 from Iraqi Anbar tribe
(about 4 hours later)
Islamic State militants have killed at least 50 members of a western Iraqi tribe in Anbar province, officials and tribal leaders say. Militants from Islamic State (IS) have killed at least 50 members of an Iraqi tribe in western Anbar province, officials and tribal leaders say.
The deaths are thought to be in retaliation for the Al Bu Nimr tribe's resistance to the jihadists. The men and women from the Al Bu Nimr tribe are reported to have been lined up and shot in retaliation for resisting the jihadists.
The news comes after mass graves were found containing between 80 and 220 bodies, many from the same tribe. A number of people from the same tribe were also found dead in mass graves earlier this week.
IS militants have killed hundreds of people in the large areas of Iraq and neighbouring Syria they control. IS militants control large areas of Iraq and neighbouring Syria.
Meanwhile AFP news agency quoted the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying that at least 100 IS fighters had been killed in three days of fighting for the strategic Syrian border town of Kobane. Meanwhile, AFP news agency quoted the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying that at least 100 IS fighters had been killed in three days of fighting for the strategic Syrian border town of Kobane.
On Friday some 150 Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters crossed from Turkey to join Syrian Kurds who have been defending the town against IS for six weeks. On Friday, some 150 Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters crossed from Turkey to join Syrian Kurds who have been defending the town against IS for six weeks.
The observatory says more than 950 people have died in the battle, more than half of them from IS. The Observatory says that more than 950 people have died in the battle, more than half of them from IS.
Deliberate strategyDeliberate strategy
An official from Anbar province, Faleh al-Issawi, told the Associated Press news agency that the Sunni Muslim tribesmen and women were lined up and shot by militants on Friday in the village of Ras al-Maa, north of the provincial capital Ramadi. A local official told the Associated Press news agency that the Sunni Muslim tribesmen and women were killed on Friday in the village of Ras al-Maa, north of the provincial capital Ramadi.
He said they were displaced from the town of Hit, captured by IS last month. Faleh al-Issawi said many members of the tribe had to flee their homes near the town of Hit last month when it was captured by IS.
Members of the Al Bu Nimr tribe - which has joined the Shia-dominated government's campaign against IS - had held out against militants in the town for weeks, but were eventually forced to withdraw. The Al Bu Nimr tribe had joined the Shia-dominated government's campaign against IS.
Also on Friday, mass graves were found, said to contain victims of the IS attack on Hit. There have been many other such killings, as pressure mounts on the tribes to swing one way or the other.
A graphic video allegedly showing some of the victims has also emerged online. Analysts say mass killings are also a very deliberate strategy by IS to spread terror in their opponents.
Analysts say mass killings are a very deliberate strategy by IS to spread terror in their opponents.
One local official, Sabah Karhout, described the killings in Anbar province as a crime against humanity and called for more international support for Sunni tribes fighting the militants in Anbar.One local official, Sabah Karhout, described the killings in Anbar province as a crime against humanity and called for more international support for Sunni tribes fighting the militants in Anbar.
US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the killing of Sunni tribesmen in Iraq by Islamic State fighters was the brutal "reality of what we're dealing with" in the conflict.US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the killing of Sunni tribesmen in Iraq by Islamic State fighters was the brutal "reality of what we're dealing with" in the conflict.
The US carried out an air drop of food supplies, the first of its kind, to the Al Bu Nimr tribe just a few days ago.
IS has taken over large parts of Anbar province as it expands its territory, currently about one-third of both Iraq and Syria.IS has taken over large parts of Anbar province as it expands its territory, currently about one-third of both Iraq and Syria.
The BBC's Jim Muir says the recently-formed Iraqi government is trying to win the Sunni tribes over, seeing them as a key element in the fight against IS, which in turn is trying to deter them from that course.
But Baghdad has not yet succeeded in persuading the bulk of the tribes to turn on IS.
The tribes want guarantees that they will be given a serious degree of devolution for their areas and a real say in national decision-making, our correspondent adds.