Baghdad: Sunni politicians and tribal chiefs from Iraq’s eastern Diyala province accused Shiite militias on Monday of killing more than 70 unarmed civilians who had fled clashes with Daesh militants.

Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Sa’ad Maan denied the claims, saying Daesh was trying to undermine the reputation of Iraqi security forces.

A local Shiite official said it was too soon to draw conclusions and suggested Daesh could have been behind the deaths in the eastern village of Barwanah.

The accusations followed a three-day offensive in which Iraqi security forces and Shiite militias captured two dozen villages from Daesh fighters in Diyala.

The assault, which began on Friday, enabled Shiite militias, the Iraqi army and Sunni tribesmen to push the militants out of the Muqdadiya area, the closest Daesh outpost to the Iranian border 40km to the east.

Iraq’s Shiite-led government, backed by US-led air strikes, has been trying to push back Daesh since it swept through northern Iraq in June.

Diyala’s governor, Amir Salman, and Nahida Al Daini, an MP from nearby Baquba, called on Baghdad to intervene in Barwanah, 5 km northwest of Muqdadiya where pro-government militias and some security forces took control of about two dozen villages from Daesh fighters earlier on Monday.

“This evening the militias entered the village of Barwanah and executed more than 70 residents. This is a real massacre by the militias,” Al Daini said.

Sagar Al Jabouri and Ahmad Ebrahim, Sunni shaikhs from Muqdadiya, confirmed the reports. “The militias are acting above the law. The security forces are unable to restrain them,” Jabouri said. “We will defend ourselves. We are afraid we will be next.” Reuters was unable to independently verify these claims due to the security situation in the area.

“[Daesh] terrorists might have killed those people because they refused to fight with them,” said Amal Omran, a Shiite member of the Diyala provincial council, using a derogatory acronym to refer to Daesh.

Hadi Al Amri, head of the Shiite paramilitary group Badr Organisation, told a news conference broadcast on state TV at least 58 soldiers and pro-government fighters were killed in the Muqdadiya offensive and 247 wounded.

“We managed on January 25 and after three days’ tough battle to defeat the terrorists in northern Muqdadiya and we cleansed all the villages of Daesh,” Al Amri said.

About 65 Daesh fighters were killed, Sadiq Al Hussaini, chairman of the security panel of Diyala’s provincial council, said, adding other militants had fled but did not specify where. Mountainous terrain could make it difficult to eliminate Daesh from the area.

Previous seizures have often been followed by a counter-offensive.

Residents and security sources said Shiite militias had destroyed several mosques and set fire to dozens of houses in the village of Shirween, even some belonging to Sunni fighters who had participated in the offensive.

“After liberating some villages in northern Muqdadiya, a group of militias assaulted us and accused us of being Daesh members. After they restricted our movement, they began to blow up the large houses,” said Salam Abdullah Al Jobouri, a Sunni tribal fighter.

An army major, a local official and a Sunni tribal leader confirmed the reports. The major said security forces were unable to stop the militias.

The Interior Ministry spokesman denied government forces had intentionally destroyed residents’ homes. He accused Daesh of planting bombs as they retreated in order to ambush the troops and undermine their reputation.

While Daesh’s advance has forced thousands of people from their homes, government attempts to regain territory have also displaced many.