Stupefied by absolutist theocracy, ISIS is too stupid to survive as a viable force.
Killing Sunni tribesmen is the beginning of the end.
Death toll from ISIS' public executions of Iraqi Sunni tribesmen passes 200
BAGHDAD - An Iraqi official and a Sunni tribal leader say Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants have shot dead 36 Sunni tribesmen, women and children, pushing the total number of people killed by the group's apparent drive to punish the tribe in recent days to more than 200.
Sheik Naim al-Gaoud, a senior figure in the Al Bu Nimr tribe, says the militant group on Monday killed 29 men, four women and three children, lining them up in in the village of Ras al-Maa, north of Ramadi. He says they publicly shot each of them dead one by one. He says that 120 families are still trapped there.
An official with the Anbar governor's office corroborated the account of Monday's killings. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to brief journalists.
Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch reported that ISIS executed 600 Iraqi prison inmates when they seized the country's second-largest city of Mosul in June.
On Friday, the Security Council issued a statement expressing "deep outrage" at the ISIS killings, kidnapping, rapes and torture in Iraq, saying the group's actions "may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity."
ISIS militants have overrun a large part of Anbar province in a push to expand their territory across Iraq and Syria. Officials with the Iraqi government, as well as officials with the U.S.-led coalition targeting the extremists, repeatedly have said that Iraqi tribes are key elements in the fight against ISIS since they are able to penetrate areas inaccessible to airstrikes and ground forces.
Some Sunnis in Anbar supported the militants when they seized Fallujah and parts of Ramadi in December. That came after widespread Sunnis protests against the Shiite-led government in Baghdad for what they described as second-class treatment.
Since ISIS' major offensive in Iraq, a number of Iraq's Sunni tribes have been fundamental in stalling its advance, taking up arms and fighting alongside Iraqi security forces.
Ramadi has yet to fall in part because of key Sunni tribes in the city. The Jughaifi and al-Bunimer tribes have helped Iraqi special forces protect the Haditha Dam in Anbar. In the battleground town of Dhuluiyah, the al-Jabbouri tribe has been the sole resistance to an ISIS militant takeover.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and his new government have vowed to create a community-driven national guard that would empower local tribes. Other tribes have not been won over, and have allied themselves with the militant group as a means for contesting the Shiite-led government.
In the vast province of Anbar, some 5,000 tribesmen are backing government efforts to take part in the fight and receive arms and financial compensation. With tribes often numbering 30,000 to 40,000 people, the effort still has a long way to go, however.
© 2014 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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