ISIS photographs detail execution of Iraqi soldiers (WARNING GRAPHIC PHOTOS)

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham's administrative division in Salahaddin proudly displayed photographs of the capture and execution of Iraqi soldiers after it took over a base in the province.

The graphic photographs were released today on the Twitter account belonging to Wilayat Salahaddin, or Salahaddin Division. The ISIS has divided its "state" in Iraq and Syria into 16 administrative units, or wilayats.

The stream of photographs begins by showing ISIS fighters in dirt-caked pickup trucks with machine guns mounted in the beds traveling to Tasfirat prison in the city of Tikrit, and then launching an assault with dismounted troops. Tikrit fell to the ISIS earlier this week.

After capturing the base, the ISIS takes photographs of dozens of US-supplied armored Humvees, Ford and Chevy pickup trucks, and various military transport and supply vehicles that were left behind.

ISIS fighters are then photographed posing over the bloodied and mutilated corpses of the slain soldiers. The ISIS photos show the capture, transport, and execution of scores of Iraqi soldiers. Most of the soldiers are in civilian clothes, but some are seen wearing civilian clothes over their uniforms.

Iraqi soldiers had reportedly shed their uniforms and deserted en masse as the ISIS blitzkrieg advanced from Mosul to Tikrit and on to the outskirts of Samarra in the course of one week. At least four Iraqi Army divisions are said to have melted away during the ISIS onslaught.

In the photos, the Iraqi soldiers are rounded up at gunpoint and placed on flatbed trucks, some of which appear to have been captured from the base. Some of the ISIS fighters are seen holding US-made M-16 assault rifles, which had been issued to the Iraqi Army and police forces.

The ISIS fighters then order the frightened soldiers to lie face down in shallow ditches, with their hands behind their backs. ISIS fighters then open fire on the unarmed prisoners of war.

The ISIS is said to have executed thousands of Iraqi soldiers during its southward advance to Baghdad. Several Iraqi military bases are believed to have been overrun. Forward Operating Base Speicher, which once was a major US military hub in Salahaddin province, was reportedly seized by the ISIS during its southward push.

Over the past week, the ISIS took control of Ninewa and most of Salahaddin province, as well as parts of Diyala province. Most of Anbar province fell under ISIS control in January.

WARNING: Many of the images below are graphic and show the execution of Iraqi soldiers. The intent of publishing these photographs is to document the war crimes committed by the ISIS. The images are a selection of more than 60 published by the ISIS' Salahaddin Division. You can view the all of the photographs here.

ISIS fighters move in a convoy in Salahaddin province:

ISIS fighters open fire from a pickup truck as dismounted troops assault a base:

ISIS fighters travel in a captured Iraqi police pickup truck:

A captured American-made Iraqi Army Humvee:

Two ISIS fighters pose with captured military vehicles:

Two ISIS fighters pose over the body of a dead Iraqi soldier:

Iraqi soldiers are herded to a truck to be transported to their execution:

Iraqi soldiers are transported to the execution site:

ISIS fighter opens fire on Iraqi prisoners as they lie in a shallow ditch:

An ISIS fighter holds a US M-16 rifle as captured Iraqi soldiers lie face down on the ground:

An Iraqi soldier wore civilian clothes over his uniform in an attempt to disguise himself:

ISIS fighters form a line and execute the captured Iraqi soldiers:

True. But “armies” that aren’t really armies historically have a much harder time holding onto gains than making them in the first place.

And your point doesn’t change anything about the negatives of murdering prisoners.

That’s why I personally suspect ISIS will retreat soon, possibly even more rapidly than they advanced.

It seems obvious to me that the answer in Iraq is to split the country into three. But there is no “good” answer to the situation, as even that would entail massive ethnic cleansing and bloodletting.

It seems to me the collapse of the existing order in the Middle East is due more to internal tensions than to anything the USA has done or not done. But Americans, right and left, like to believe that “If only we’d done (or not done) X, Y or Z, everything would have been OK.”

The real answer for us, though not for the Middle East and the rest of the world, is to make ourselves energy-independent and let the ME pound sand.

the opportunity to civilize a barbarian culture.

Quite beyond our means, at least using methods we're presently willing to use.

I find it interesting that you see few comments on the basic Achilles heel of the Caliphate movement.

A great many Muslims believe in the concept, but there is simply no way at all for a leader to climb to this position except by conquest. And even then he would have no true legitimacy and would have no way to hold his position other than by violent repression. As Napoleon said, "You can do anything with bayonets in politics except sit on them." Which was of course what in the long run brought him down.

The basic problem of any government system is how to establish legitimacy of rule and succession, whereby the people accept the right of the government to rule.

Dozens or hundreds of ambitious warlords contending militarily for the caliph's position is hardly a recipe for stability.

It should also be noted that the Arabs, as a people, have not produced any great conquerors since about 900. Every great Muslim conqueror has been non-Arab in origin: Berber, Turkish, Kurdish, Persian, Mongol, etc.

Which tends to indicate there's something in the Arab national character that makes conquering, or at least maintaining a conquest, difficult.

It is somehow crazy that we have to hope for the Iranians to take over in Iraq. After all this is probably the best solution in the moment.

From a European point of view it is not understandable that you Americans wasted so much blood and energy to conquer this country just to leave it alone in its most critical moment. With Saddam Hussein things were in balance just as they are with Assad in Syria. Neither Assad or Saddam ever were a threat for us or for you. Furthermore the concept of democracy simply does not correlate with Islam. Therefore Assad and Saddam were the best solution for all of us. We always told you that and you never believed us.

Now you guys left a mess that will cost us (the “West”) many good men and lots of material. The Iraqis already paid your faults with thousands of lives and now they have to pay with many thousands more.

You might be misleaded to discharge the responsibility on Obama alone. This is definitly wrong. His predecessors are as nocent as he is. A mixture of mammonism and greenness lead them into into a simply imbezile war.

I will probably be zotted because of this statement. Nevertheless it is simply the truth.

Regards from Europe

Andreas

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