The Ghúls of Nineveh

The Ghúls of Nineveh are a notorious band of undead. Ghúls are found throughout most of the Middle East and one of the most common to this region overall. Unfortunately Nineveh seems to have recently seen a spike in the number of them, and all of them in packs or related to one pack or another. Sometimes referred to corpse feeders locally they are a scrouge throughout the city, and will take down living creatures where they can.
Though saying this, they regularly feed on rotting corpses, almost like a cheese connisseur would savour a pungent specialist cheese. They are quite willing to feast this way before attacking a living creature just heighten the fear found in the latter. There is talk of them being led by a Ghúl King or a Ghast but none are willing to openly talk about such a thing.

Basic Information

Ecology and Habitats

They are found around the city of Nineveh, and act like carrion birds, but with a more voracious appetite. They actually sem to keep disease down by ridding the city of unclaimed & unburied remains of other creatures. There is the odd local stories of them fighting stray dogs & cats, and vultures for some of these remains, and keeping the numbers of these scavengers at a lower level.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Hanging round graveyards and other places of death, the Ghúls of Nineveh feed primarily on the rotting remains found within. If they can get the unwary, or the odd mourner, then they will. Death attracts them especially when the body starts to break down, something that attracts them like sharks to a bleeding sea creature.
They will stop at nothing when the hunger sets in, and will gladly kill & eat the living if there is nothing left to eat. The only thing they won't eat is each other.

Behaviour

Regularly found near or within grave yards and places where the dead are prepared for funeral, they will wait for hours to days around these sites at the edge of Nineveh. They take a perverse delight in openly desecrating the tombs & eating the foulest of corpses, then attacking any who try to stop them. Each Ghúl can be quite weak by itself but these have found that banding together makes them stronger as a whole.
Sometimes when a creature has died and has no kin or close friends they tragically pass away alone. The Ghúls will congregate in and around the building or site after 24 hours or later. The smell of rot seems to attract them, and they are akmost like carrion birds who will pretty much strip the remains down to the smallest bits of bone in an hour or two.

Civilization and Culture

History

The Ghúls of Nineveh are nothing new and have been in the region in one form or another for millennia. The difference is that they have recently been increasing in number & organisation.
The city has a cell belonging to the Children of the Nazarene for this length of time, and they seem to have some sort of control of the local undead including the Ghúls. It seems that the two are linked at some base level. The increase in local Ghúls have been attributed to the cell actively attracting more Ghúls or some method of calling to / summoning them magically. A few of the locals who deal with these creatures indicate that there has been some type of structure imposed on the Ghúls. This keeps them obedient and is getting them to act almost like a hivemind.
Also, this has took a more sinister turn in that more & more people are disappearing recently. Many of them seem to those who practise magic or have links to the local faiths, primarily Islam. Local authorities are worried that if the numbers of Ghúls increase then the city may be overrun by them.