Members of U.S.-allied Albu Nimr tribe abducted by ISIS feared dead

Nov. 04, 2014

اقتباس :: Members of U.S.-allied Albu Nimr tribe abducted by ISIS feared dead

Members of U.S.-allied Albu Nimr tribe abducted by ISIS feared dead 04_E4_10

Albu Nimr tribesmen put up a fierce fight against ISIS until they began running of out weapons and supplies.

اقتباس :: LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online): The Albu Nimr tribe, who number in the tens of thousands, are ready to fight to take back Hit. The city was seized last month by ISIS fighters. Both Hit and neighboring Ramadi were holdouts in the Sunni-dominated Anbar province after ISIS swept in from Syria.

Albu Nimr tribesmen put up a fierce fight against ISIS until they began running of out weapons and supplies. Albu Nimr has a strong force ready to attack Hit, but they need to get the final approvals from the government and also try to coordinate with the Americans.

The weekend abductions and suspected killings follow reports of public executions as well as the discovery of mass graves containing the bodies of tribesmen killed by ISIS.
U.S. officials maintain that Iraqi support for Sunni tribes going on the offensive against ISIS will be a necessary part in the effort to defeat Islamic State.

General Martin Dempsey, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, signaled the possibility of a new role. During a press conference, he mentioned that the Iraqi government had not yet requested U.S. military support in efforts to defend a Sunni tribe that has suffered mass executions at the hands of ISIS militants.

"That's why we need to expand the train-advise-and-assist mission into the . Anbar Province," Dempsey said. "But the precondition for that is that the government of Iraq is willing to arm the tribes."

Dempsey said the United States had "positive indications" the Iraqi government was prepared to do that but had not yet acted. There's no word yet when the operation would begin.

The weekend abductions and suspected killings follow reports of public executions as well as the discovery of mass graves containing the bodies of tribesmen killed by ISIS.

An estimated 200 members of Albu Nimr were found in a mass grave just outside Hit. The tribesmen were captured by ISIS fighters after it took control of the area, the official said.

Another 48 tribesmen were marched through the streets of Hit before they were publicly executed, an official said.

And a mass grave was found in nearby Ramadi, according to Iraqi media accounts. Video of those executions had been uploaded to the Internet.