Baghdad, Dec 8 (IANS): Members of Sunni tribes in Iraq’s Anbar province say they want to form a tribal army to fight Islamic State (IS) militants, a media report said Monday.

“We want to establish a tribal army in Anbar,” said Ahmad Jasim, a resident of Anbar, Press TV reported citing the Kurdish newspaper Rudaw. “We, the people of Anbar, will be able to liberate our region from ISIS (another name for IS).”

Sunni tribes such as Albu Nimr have been helping the Iraqi army in its battle against the IS extremists operating in restive Anbar province. In response, the terror group has killed hundreds of tribesmen in recent months.

“We and the Iraqi army have been in the same position for one year and the army hasn’t been able to finish this war,” said Hamid Jubair, another resident of the province.

Sabah Karhut, the head of the Anbar provincial council, said last week that a tribal army would be formed in the province, adding that the tribal army would cooperate with Iraqi government forces.

Iraqi army soldiers, backed by volunteer forces, have been fighting the Sunni radical group for nearly six months now.

Anbar province, which borders war-ravaged Syria, has been a major stronghold of the IS and continues to be largely controlled by the terror group.