Five fishermen have been killed in a suspected ISIS attack in Najaf province, raising fears that the extremist group is stepping up activity in Iraq as its fighters cling to their last patch of territory across the border in Syria.
The fishermen’s bodies were found near Therthar lake in Najaf’s Abbasid district on Saturday, according to the Iraq High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR).
“Armed militants attacked the fishermen on Saturday morning,” Ali Al Bayati, a board member, told The National.
Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, it fits in with a campaign of kidnappings and random killings by ISIS sleeper cells to undermine the Baghdad government.
