Iraqi militias claim they downed Islamic State 'drone'

Tribal militias in the Iraqi governorate of Anbar have shot down a remote-controlled quadcopter with a camera used by the Islamic State group (IS) to spy on army and militia sites.

"The militiamen shot down the quadcopter with a machine gun," Sheikh Naim al-Kaoud, leader of the Albu Nimr tribe, told al-Araby al-Jadeed.

"The quadcopter was used to monitor the movements of the tribes and security forces in town," he added.

Sheikh Ammar al-Issawi, another tribal leader in Anbar, told al-Araby al-Jadeed that shooting down the quadcopter served as proof of the major role played by Anbar's tribes in the fight against IS.

"The government has not armed the tribes yet, except for some minor weaponry that will not level up to the anticipated battles in Anbar," he said, "yet the tribes continue to perform their defence duty using whatever weapons they have."

"Ramadi is currently under the control of security forces and tribes, protected from all directions," Issawi added.

On Thursday morning, IS members in the Anbar city of Ramadi slaughtered four people in a public execution over espionage charges, according to eyewitnesses.

Meanwhile, the joint operations command announced the continuation of advancement towards set targets in Anbar.

In its statement, the command said it managed to open several strategic routes, as well as kill an IS leader and a number of fighters in the area.

In addition, the US-led coalition against IS killed 11 members of the group and injured two others following three airstrikes in Anbar, also destroying IS sites and arsenals.