Arab and international media have put the Albu Nimr tribe under the spotlight following the execution of hundreds of its members by the Islamic State (IS) [in Iraq]. However, the role of the victim does not suit the tribe, famous for fiercely fighting al-Qaeda in the past and IS currently. The Sunni Albu Nimr tribe is one of the tribes that led the brigade fighting al-Qaeda in Anbar during 2005 and 2006 and was well known for its fierce fight against the organization that tried to convert Iraq into an emirate. But, what is this tribe from Anbar?

History of Albu Nimr tribe

Sheikh Naim Kaoud, affiliated with the Kaoud tribes, told An-Nahar about the emergence of this tribe. He said, “Albu Nimr tribe is part of the larger Dulaim tribe famous for opposing tyrants and occupations. Albu Nimr have, throughout history, showed courageous positions in defending Mesopotamia. The tribe is one of the largest tribes of Anbar and includes more than 500,000 people distributed over Anbar, Salahuddin, Mosul and Baghdad.”

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Amid a crumbling peace plan in Ukraine, NATO has reported Russian troop movement near the Ukrainian border. Meanwhile, Kyiv has vowed to protect eastern cities from the rebels trying to exert power over the region.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko convened the Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council on Tuesday evening in reaction to the ballot held over the weekend by separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine.

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Yemeni security officials say more than 30 people have been killed in clashes between Shiite Houthi rebels and tribal fighters backed by Al-Qaeda militants in the embattled town of Radda south of the capital Sanaa.

The officials said the two sides traded heavy artillery fire that lasted until early Tuesday, killing several civilians and damaging houses and cars. The indiscriminate shelling has forced dozens of families to flee the town.

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The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for two bombings on Shiite pilgrims that left 23 people dead in Baghdad a day earlier, as violence continued on Monday.

In a statement posted online late Sunday, the group said the car bomb attacks happened despite the tight security measures amid the Shiites’ “biggest infidel event.”

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Libya’s army has asked residents to evacuate a central district of Beghanzi, where the country’s seaport is located, as it prepares a military operation against Islamists, Reuters news agency reported citing Ahmed al-Mesmari, spokesman for the army’s chief of staff.

At least 230 people have been killed since the army, which is backed by forces loyal to a former general, waged an offensive against Islamist groups in Libya’s second-largest city. It is part of the ongoing strife that has taken over the oil-producing North African country three years after the ousting for its former dictator president Muammar Gaddafi.

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At least 55 people, including 11 women and three security personnel, were killed and nearly 200 injured when a suicide attacker detonated a powerful bomb at Wagah in Pakistan today, minutes after the popular flag- lowering ceremony at the main Indo-Pak land border crossing.

“A large number of people were returning after watching Rangers flag ceremony at Wagah border when a suicide bomber blew himself up near one of the exit gates,” Inspector General Police of Punjab Police Mushtaq Sukhera said. He said three Pakistani Rangers were also among the dead.

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Twenty Yemeni soldiers and three suspected al Qaeda militants died in clashes on Saturday in the town of Jabal Ras in Yemen’s western province of Hodeidah, local officials and residents said.

Saturday’s clashes broke out when suspected al Qaeda militants staged an attack.

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