It has been reported that ISIS forces have burned 45 people to death in the Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi. The town was just five miles away from an air base holding hundreds of U.S. Marines.
While the chief of police of the local town told the BBC that the identities of the victims are still unknown, he said that it is believed that among the deceased are security forces that have been fighting with the militant group over control of the town.
It was just days ago that the video footage released by ISIS forced decapitated the group beheading 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians on a beach in Libya, an event that Pope Francis called a “barbaric assassination.”
The group appears to be building up momentum for their actions and killings over the past few weeks. The group started with the burning of an Jordanian pilot who was being held hostage since December. There are currently an estimated 2,600 U.S. troops stationed in Iraq; 450 of those are training Iraqi troops who are currently occupying three bases across the country.
It is believed that ISIS is going to attempt an invasion of the nearest U.S. militant base, but retired Col. Thomas Lynch told Fox News that they would need a lot of extra forces, which would include a necessary target for airstrikes.
While they may need those extra forces, the invasion of the local town of al-Baghdadi shows that ISIS is attempting to get as close as possible to locate their forces near by.
Photo By: Quynhanh Do
