ISIS executes 46 in Iraq

A Kurdish woman makes the victory sign as peshmerga convoys cross through the Habur border crossing along the Turkish-Iraqi border, yesterday. Photo: AFP

Jihadists from the Islamic State group have executed at least 46 members of a tribe that fought against them in Iraq's Anbar province, sources said as heavily armed Iraqi peshmerga fighters were set to reinforce fellow Kurds defending the Syrian border town of Kobane.

The men from the Albu Nimr tribe were killed in an area overrun by the militants last week north of the town of Heet, a local leader and a doctor said. A police colonel and a leader from the anti-jihadist Sahwa forces confirmed the killings, saying they took place yesterday.

ISIS jihadists have overrun large areas of Anbar, and the killings are likely aimed at discouraging resistance from powerful local tribes, who will be key to any successful bid to retake the province.

One picture, circulated in Twitter, shows a long line of more than 30 men in civilian clothes lying in the middle of a street with streams of blood running over the dusty ground, as young men and children look on. The victims are barefoot and many are blindfolded, their hands bound behind their backs.

Meanwhile, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels crossed from Turkey to Kobane yesterday, officials said, to help Kurdish militia who have faced an onslaught by ISIS jihadists for weeks.

The peshmerga were expected to follow after a convoy of trucks carrying fighters, machineguns, heavy artillery and rocket launchers crossed the Iraqi-Turkish border early yesterday. Iraqi Kurdish officials said up to 200 peshmerga fighters would be sent.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said ISIS had also attacked an oil and gas field held by President Bashar al-Assad's regime, killing 30 pro-regime gunmen and security guards. ISIS was in control of parts of the Shaer field in Homs province, the Observatory said, adding that an unknown number of jihadists were also killed in the assault on Tuesday.

In Iraq, Pentagon said troops had made gains in Iraq over the previous 36 hours. In central Iraq, north of Baghdad, Iraqi forces had expanded control of territory near the Baiji oil refinery and were "making progress," spokesman Kirby said. Iraqi forces also had advanced against ISIS west of Baghdad, he added.