Air Strikes In Iran Kills 20 Civilians

Two air strikes in towns held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in the west of Anbar province killed more than 20 people on Thursday.

The incident which occurred in the towns of Heet and Rutbah, is being speculated to have been carried out by the US-led international coalition, or Iraqi air force planes.

Anbar, which has been the centre plot for battles between Iraqi forces and ISIS, is the country’s most treacherous area. The most vulnerable areas in Anbar are the urban centers of Ramadi - which is now largely controlled by government forces, and Fallujah, which is still held by the fighters. ISIL also hit pro-government fighters elsewhere in the province on Thursday, killing at least 13 Sunni tribal fighters in an assault on their barracks, north of Haditha. Since being pushed from the centre of Ramadi in late December last year, ISIL has launched daily attacks on Iraqi forces, especially on the outskirts of the city.

According to the International Organization for Migration, Anbar account for more than one third of the 3.2 million people displaced by fighting in Iraq since the start of 2014.

ISIL or ISIS is a militant group that has been active since 1999. It has control over vast landlocked territory in Iraq and Syria with a population estimate ranging between 2.8 million and 8 million people. An unknown number of Syrians and Iraqis, several Lebanese soldiers, male and female Kurdish fighters near Kobani, two American journalists, one American and two British aid workers, 30 Ethiopian Christians and 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya have been beheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, who use this to intimidate local populations and has released a series of propaganda videos aimed at scaring people.