Members of the extreme jihadist organization Islamic State killed 25 members of a Sunni tribe in an attack on Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's Anbar province, local officials said.
They said the bodies of members of the Albu Fahd tribe were discovered after the Iraqi army launched a counteroffensive against Islamic State in a village on the eastern outskirts of Ramadi, which is west of Baghdad.
Reuters reports that this is an apparent retaliation for the tribe's opposition to radical extremists.
Last month, the Islamic State killed several hundred members of the Albu Nimr tribe, trying to break the residents' resistance to their advance in the predominantly Sunni province of Anbar. That province has been under the control of jihadists for almost a year.
The Iraqi army launched a major operation
The Iraqi army, with the support of local tribes, wants to retake the eastern part of Ramadi after it was captured by extremists yesterday, said an unnamed official of the Anbar Provincial Council.
He added that intense fighting is taking place today, and mortar fire can be heard from both sides.
The Islamic State has been trying to conquer Ramadi for months.
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