BAGHDAD — The Islamic State group wanted to send a warning against anyone who might plot against its rule.
When the extremists took over the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in June, police Col. Mohammed Hassan was among some Sunnis in the security forces who surrendered, handed over their weapons and pledged to cut ties with the police. In return, the militants gave them “repentance badges” granting them some safety.
But now, the Islamic State group suspected Hassan was engaging in activities against it. So last week, Islamic State fighters stormed Hassan’s house at night. Hassan and his son fought back, killing three attackers before they were gunned down.
The militants then hung his mutilated body from a fence for several days near his home as an example, according to two residents who witnessed the battle and were aware of the events leading up to it. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
The past few weeks, the Islamic State group has been hunting down former police officers and army officers in areas it controls, apparently fearing they might join a potential internal Sunni uprising against its rule.
While world attention has been focused on the battle to fend off the extremists’ assault on the town of Kobani across the border in Syria, the group has killed dozens of its opponents this month in Iraq. In several instances, Sunnis have been lined up in public squares and gunned down or beheaded as a warning.
The aim is to prevent the Baghdad government and the U.S.-led alliance from finding Sunni allies against it at a time when Kurdish fighters and Shiite militias backed by U.S.-led airstrikes have made some gains, taking back several towns from the militants.
The militants on Wednesday paraded 30 Sunni tribal fighters through the western city of Hit, then shot them all to death on a main street, according to a provincial official and other residents.
Their bodies were found later that day, followed by another mass grave of 48 tribal fighters discovered on Thursday. The fighters, mostly from the Al Bu Nimr tribe, were captured when the extremists overran Hit earlier in the month.
So far, there has been little sign of an armed revolt in Mosul or other parts of northern and western Iraq under Islamic State control. But the killings could be a sign the extremists’ confidence has been shaken by the air campaign.
The group was able to expand with lightning speed across Sunni-dominated regions of Iraq starting in June, in large part because of the minority community’s deep hatred of the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad.
