Militants from Islamic State (IS) burned to death 45 people in the western Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi, the local police chief said Tuesday.
Exactly who the victims were and why they were killed is not clear, but Col. Qasim al-Obeidi said he believed some were members of the security forces, BBC reported.
IS fighters captured much of the town, near Ain al-Asad air base, last week. Obeidi said a compound that houses the families of security personnel and local officials was now under attack.
He pleaded for help from the government and the international community. The fighting and poor communications in the area make it difficult to confirm the reports.
This is not the first incident in which the militants crossed all limits of barbarism by burning down people alive. Earlier this month, IS published a video showing militants burning alive a Jordanian air force pilot, whose plane had crashed in Syria.
Al-Baghdadi, about 85km northwest of Ramadi in Anbar Province, had been besieged for months by militants who captured vast swathes of northern and western Iraq last year. Ain al-Asad air base, where about 320 US Marines are training members of the Iraqi army, is only 8km away from Al-Baghdadi.
