A tribal elder says Islamic State (IS) militants have massacred 70 members of a Sunni Arab tribe in Iraq's western province of Anbar.

Sheikh Naim al-Gaud said the 70 members of the Bu Nimr tribe were found shot dead in the village of Khanizir, a day after they were abducted northeast of the provincial capital, Ramadi.

He said the tribesmen were killed because they had relatives serving in Iraq's security forces.

Sheikh Gaud also said they had fled to Khanizir with their families from their homes in Ramadi after IS fighters captured the city in May.

In November 2014, IS militants killed more than 300 members of the Bu Nimr tribe, which confronted the IS group after it seized control of swathes of western and northern Iraq that June.

Based on reporting by dpa and the BBC