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Four relatives of the head of the Salah el-Din Salvation Council, Sheikh Hamad al-Hasan, were killed when unidentified gunmen attacked their house in al-Hajjaj village, in southern Bayji, Voices of Iraq (VOI) reported Tuesday.
The attack occurred in the early hours Monday morning, a local media source told VOI.
"The gunmen killed the council head's four nephews, then set the bodies and house on fire," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The source did not give further details about the incident.
Last Thursday, several tribes in Salah el-Din formed a tribal council in an attempt to combat armed groups in the province and elected Sheikh al-Hasan as its head.
The Salah al-Din Salvation Council was formed by a group of tribal leaders in the province, and was apparently modeled on the Anbar Salvation Council, also known as the Anbar Awakening, which has aligned with US forces to combat al-Qa'ida-linked armed groups in that province.
“The council was formed with the goal of facing the armed groups that target Iraqis,” one source told VOI in Arabic.
“The new council is made up of a number of Arab tribes in the province, among them the Jubour and Shamour and others,” the source said.
The source told Aswat al-Iraq/VOI that the council would concentrate its recruitment operations in restive areas such as Samarra, Bayji, and Dhulu'iya, VOI adds.
