Tribal chief: ISIS seizes 15 villages in Iraq’s Anbar

Radical militant group ISIS is in control of 15 villages in the Iraqi province of Anbar, a tribal figure told Al Arabiya News.

Sheikh Naeem al-Ku’oud, one of Anbar’s tribal notables, said ISIS recaptured these villages after they were previously liberated by the Western province’s tribesmen.

Meanwhile, 35 members of Albu Nimr tribe were captured by ISIS after battles against the radical group in al-Mahboubiya near Heet, west of the province, Al Arabiya News Channel’s correspondent reported.

The captives were reportedly taken to a public execution court in Heet.

However, in the eastern Salah al-Dina province, security forces declared that they were in control of the Beiji district north of Tikrit.

In a related story, NATO said on Thursday that it was reviewing an Iraqi request for help building up its military as the government struggles to defeat ISIS.

“Iraq has now requested NATO support in defense capacity building,” alliance head Jens Stoltenberg told regional partners at the NATO and Gulf Security conference in Qatar on Thursday.

He added: ISIS “poses a grave threat to the Iraqi and the Syrian people, the wider region and all of our nations.”