Charred remains of at least 30 people found in Iraq's Anbar province

The burnt bodies of 30 people have been found in a town in Iraq's western Anbar province, days after Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters seized the area.

Sources told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that the charred remains of 30 people were found in the town of al-Baghdadi, just over 50 miles northwest of Ramadi. Other reports suggest as many as 45 bodies have been discovered in the area.

ISIL captured large parts of al-Baghdadi on Saturday in a move that threatens U.S. soldiers stationed at a nearby airbase.

About 320 Marines are training members of the Iraqi 7th Division at the Ain al-Asad airbase, 3 miles southwest of al-Baghdadi.

Most of the surrounding towns fell to ISIL last summer after the group advanced quickly across the Syrian border.

Anbar province, which borders Syria, has been a major stronghold for ISIL and continues to be largely controlled by the group.

ISIL controls large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria, and in June last year announced the establishment of a "caliphate" straddling the two countries.

Al Jazeera