a crowd of 200 residents, and stoned by eight ISIL fighters. An anonymous witness said: "They brought the man and the woman, they tied their hands and covered their faces, and started to stone them." One airstrike on 31 July 2015 led to the deaths of up to 46 civilians, and between 30 and 70 people being injured. A number of those killed were children, and the majority of victims came from five families in the town. The origin of the airstrike was uncertain, as neither the Iraqi government or coalition forces acknowledged launching a strike near Ar-Rutbah on that date. The United Nations expressed "serious concern" about the issue, and the Governor of Anbar Province, Suhaib al-Rawi, launched an investigation into the attack. In late August 2015, a coalition airstrike, led by the US Air Force, destroyed a car bomb-making facility on the outskirts of Ar-Rutbah. The facility was described by US Brigadier General Kevin Killea as "strategic for Daesh in funneling VBIEDs into Anbar Province." On 29 August, ISIL militants killed a local resident that killed a member of ISIL as part of a long-running clan blood feud. In response, hundreds of residents demonstrated against the killing, and clashes broke out when ISIL tried to disperse the demonstrations. 70 residents were detained and a further 100 were tied to street lights for 24 hours as punishment. In March 2016, a number of ISIL fighters based in Ar-Rutbah deserted the town and headed to Mosul, where they were detained by other ISIL fighters. Around 50 deserters were then publicly executed in Mosul. It has been estimated that anti ISIL coalition forces have conducted around 50 airstrike missions on and around the town. Iraqi forces returned in May, 2016, driving out ISIL. ISIL attacked the city on 23 October 2016, possibly in order to draw away Iraqi security forces involved in the Battle of Mosul. A local Iraqi security official stated that the group could have recaptured as much as half of the city. The attack was reported to have been repelled by the following day, with the remaining attackers holed up in two neighbourhoods. Reinforcements were reported to have arrived to fight the attackers while a curfew was imposed in the town. Contradictory reports emerged on the following day that the town had been completely or partially captured by ISIL on the following day. Iraqi Army claimed the group