ISIS stamps out dissidents in Rutbah, Iraq
ISIS militants moved on Saturday to stamp out dissent in a remote western Iraqi town, detaining at least 70 and tying dozens of residents, including tribal leaders, to streetlight poles as a punishment, security officials said. The crackdown followed a rare street demonstration on Saturday to protest the extremist group's execution of a local resident, they said. The protest by hundreds of residents in Rutbah, in Anbar province, was triggered by the execution earlier on Saturday of Munir al-Kobeisi, a civil servant, for killing an ISIS member. The killing was part of a long-running blood feud between two local clans.
Eid Amash, a spokesman for Anbar's provincial government, confirmed al-Kobeisi's execution and the subsequent protest. Relying on sketchy information from Rutbah, in Iraq's far west near the Jordanian border, the officials said they didn't know the whereabouts of the detained residents. The militants, they said, tied two residents to each light pole and that the town was gripped by fears that the group would carry out mass executions.
Elsewhere in Anbar, much of which is under ISIS control, a roadside bomb on Saturday hit a border guard convoy making its way to the border crossing of Trebil on the Jordanian border, security officials said. Five officers were killed in the attack, which bore the hallmarks of ISIS, whose militants are active in the area near the Jordanian and Syrian borders. The officials also said a pair of roadside bombs killed five people and injured 19 south and west of Baghdad on Saturday. Also in the capital, assailants using pistols fitted with silencers killed two people in the Jihad neighborhood in western Baghdad before they fled in a car. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Meanwhile, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Saturday that ISIS executed 91 people across Syria, including 39 people from its ranks. The executed ISIS militants have reportedly attempted to flee from the group. The rights group said the executions were carried out over accusations of sorcery, sodomy, adultery, banditry, joining and cooperating with rival rebel groups, cooperating with U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS, cooperating with forces that are loyal to the Syrian regime and insulting religious values. The Observatory said that the executions took place between July 29 and August 29 and most of the militants were beheaded.
The rights group that monitors the war also reported that dozens of civilians including women were also executed.
The same monitoring group reported on last December that ISIS killed 120 of its own members, most of them foreign fighters trying to return home. The executions took place between July 2014 and December 2014. The group also said that more than a thousand civilians were killed by the group in the same period.
ISIS is known with its brutal stance against its dissidents and executes not only captured militants from other rebel groups or regime troops but also civilians and its own members.
Eid Amash, a spokesman for Anbar's provincial government, confirmed al-Kobeisi's execution and the subsequent protest. Relying on sketchy information from Rutbah, in Iraq's far west near the Jordanian border, the officials said they didn't know the whereabouts of the detained residents. The militants, they said, tied two residents to each light pole and that the town was gripped by fears that the group would carry out mass executions.
Elsewhere in Anbar, much of which is under ISIS control, a roadside bomb on Saturday hit a border guard convoy making its way to the border crossing of Trebil on the Jordanian border, security officials said. Five officers were killed in the attack, which bore the hallmarks of ISIS, whose militants are active in the area near the Jordanian and Syrian borders. The officials also said a pair of roadside bombs killed five people and injured 19 south and west of Baghdad on Saturday. Also in the capital, assailants using pistols fitted with silencers killed two people in the Jihad neighborhood in western Baghdad before they fled in a car. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Meanwhile, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Saturday that ISIS executed 91 people across Syria, including 39 people from its ranks. The executed ISIS militants have reportedly attempted to flee from the group. The rights group said the executions were carried out over accusations of sorcery, sodomy, adultery, banditry, joining and cooperating with rival rebel groups, cooperating with U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS, cooperating with forces that are loyal to the Syrian regime and insulting religious values. The Observatory said that the executions took place between July 29 and August 29 and most of the militants were beheaded.
The rights group that monitors the war also reported that dozens of civilians including women were also executed.
The same monitoring group reported on last December that ISIS killed 120 of its own members, most of them foreign fighters trying to return home. The executions took place between July 2014 and December 2014. The group also said that more than a thousand civilians were killed by the group in the same period.
ISIS is known with its brutal stance against its dissidents and executes not only captured militants from other rebel groups or regime troops but also civilians and its own members.
Last Update: August 30, 2015 20:30