U.S. condemns IS executions in Iraq’s Anbar

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The United States on Friday strongly condemned the brutal actions that the Islamic State (IS) continues to perpetrate against the Iraqi people, following reports of mass executions of Sunni tribesmen in Iraq’s Anbar province.

IS militants paraded 40 fighters from the Albu Nimr tribe through downtown Hit, a city west of Baghdad, on Wednesday afternoon before shooting and killing them in front of local residents in the city’s central square, U.S. media reported.

“One of the primary goals of ISIL is to sow fear into the hearts of all Iraqis and drive sectarian division among its people, ” said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki in a statement, using an alternative acronym of the group.

The United States condemns the tactics “in the strongest possible terms” and stands in solidarity with the Iraqi people against “these horrendous and senseless acts of violence,” she said.

In the statement, Psaki also cited reported executions of Shiite prisoners in Mosul and the reports of a mass grave outside of Ramadi, as some of the further evidence of IS’s campaign of terror.

To stop such campaign against the Syrian and Iraqi people, Psaki said, Washington remains steadfast in efforts to work with the Iraqi government and regional partners and lead the international coalition to degrade and defeat IS.

The United States will do its part to help Iraq move beyond the current crisis and urges all Iraqis to unite against the violence and continue to reject the path of hatred that IS represents, the spokeswoman added.