Bodies of 220 anti-ISIL Iraqi Sunnis found in mass graves

The bodies of 150 members of an anti-ISIL Iraqi Sunni tribe have been found in a mass grave near Iraq’s western city of Ramadi.

Security officials said on Thursday that the Takfiri terrorists seized the men from Albu Nimr tribe on Wednesday night and then killed and buried them in an area near the city of Ramadi.

The strategic city, which is the capital of the flashpoint al-Anbar Province, has been the scene of a hard-fought battle between Iraqi forces backed by tribesmen, and the ISIL terrorists.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, sources said they found 70 bodies from the same tribe near the town of Hit in the province. Security officials were not immediately available for comment but locals said the tribesmen were slain last week in an area controlled by the ISIL cult north of the town.

The victims are all said to have been summarily executed.

A tribal leader said the ISIL had ordered them to leave their villages and go to Hit, promising them safe passage. But, they were then seized and massacred. The victims were members of the police or militia groups fighting alongside Iraq’s army against the ISIL terrorists’ advance toward Baghdad.

Tribal sheikhs said the two sets of victims were among more than 300 men who were abducted by the Takfiri group this week. The victims were reportedly aged between 18 and 55 years.

The development comes days after the Iraqi armed forces launched fresh anti-ISIL operations to liberate the town of Amriyat al-Fallujah in Anbar, after they managed to recapture the town of Jurf al-Sakhar near the capital, Baghdad.

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