The militant group Islamic State (IS) executed around 80 Yazidis in northern Iraq, according to government officials and media reports.

Multimedia news organization NPR reported the killings took place in Kocho village, approximately 25 kilometers southwest of Sinjar town.

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It said the Yazidis, who are a minority group in Iraq, were executed after refusing to convert to Islam.

A Kurdish official gave details of the  "massacre" that the IS allegedly carried out.  

"They arrived in vehicles and they started their killing this afternoon," he told Reuters. "We believe it's because of their creed: convert or be killed."

Another senior Kurdish official and a Yazidi politician confirmed the killings had occurred and claimed the insurgents held captive the women of the village before executing the men.

The news comes after the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to impose sanctions on six people who are believed to have links with the IS and Al Nusra Front, a branch of Al-Qaeda based in Syria.

The six included Abu Muhammad al-Adnani,  an Iraqi who has close ties with IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

U.N.  experts describe Adnani as the group's "most influential emirs."

The sanctions on IS and Al Nusra Front associates include an arms embargo, asset freeze and international travel ban.

The other five names on the sanctions list are those of a former Algerian army officer who is now a member of the Al Nusra Front, two Kuwaiti men who are suspected of financing the Al Nusra Front, and two Saudi Arabian men who are involved with the Syria-based group in different capacities.

The U.N. resolution threatened to also punish those who provide financial or military support to the militants.

Reuters quoted Gary Quinlan, Australia's U.N. ambassador,  as saying that the resolution should serve as a reminder to member states to regularly evaluate the measures they take to combat terrorism.

He reiterated that national counter-terrorism programs should be able to keep pace with a "real and growing" threat from extremism and terrorism.

"All countries need to ensure that their own counter-terrorism measures match this evolving threat," Quinlan said. 

Tags Yazidis, Al Nusra Front, minority groups, Iraq conflict