The Islamic State has released photos that allegedly show militants executing gay men by throwing them from the top of a tall building in Mosul, Iraq.
Other photos show two men allegedly accused of theft being crucified in a public square. The montage also includes photos of militants stoning a woman to death.
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The grisly images all appear to come from an Islamic State video that is not included on the web page on which the photos were posted. The photo site states that it was created January 15 by an organization that calls itself “The Ninevah Province Media Center” and bears the logo and flag of the Islamic State.
The first still image shows a crowd gathered on a square on a cloudy day. The shot is taken from the top of a brown building that appears to be seven or eight stories high. The caption at the bottom of the screen says, “The Muslims come to watch the application of the law.”
The next photo shows a man about to be thrown off the building by what appears to be two Islamic State officials.
The text at the bottom appears to reference the prisoner as “one of Lot’s people.” The reference is to the biblical inhabitants of Lot’s towns of Sodom and Gomorrah, whose people sinned and were punished by God in the Old Testament for committing sexually deviant acts.
Some Muslims say the Prophet Mohammad said that homosexuality should be punished with death.
The next photo is horrifying, and shows the man in mid-air, falling from the building, with the body of another man on the concrete below him.
The next photo is of two bodies on the sidewalk in front of the building, a pool of blood nearby.
The next photo shows an Islamic State official reading what appears to be the charges against those facing execution. A sign posted on the building appears to show punishments for breaking the law.
Two blindfolded men are seen tied, crucifixion-style, to a metal frame in the back of a truck. One of the men is putting his index finger into the air, a symbol often used by Islamic State fighters to indicate their belief in one God.
The prisoners are then shown in the public square. Two balaclava-wearing Islamic State fighters with semiautomatic handguns fire bullets into the men’s heads from behind.
One of the executed men appears to be wearing combat boots, and the other sports shoes. Both have conservative-style beards, perhaps suggesting they were Islamic State members who went astray. The men thrown from the building are both barefoot and don’t appear to have significant facial hair.
The next photo montage appears to come from a different location and possibly time, as it shows a woman in a black niqab, or full Islamic covering, standing in a wooded area on a sunny day. A man nearby holds the Islamic State flag as what appears to be a bearded IS official reads from a piece of paper. A line of rocks can be seen in the left of the image.
The next photo appears to have been taken some time later, as the woman’s lifeless body is curled up in near fetal position amid a pile of stones, her red socks poking out from under her the now dirty black niqab. One man stands above her casting a final stone.
The final photo shows here body covered with a blue tarp.
The Islamic State has executed thousands of people, including Western journalists, aid workers, Iraqi and Syrian soldiers, and other Syrian opposition fighters, many by beheading.
In a report in October, the United Nations said the Islamic State has carried out “mass executions, abducted women and girls as sex slaves, and used child soldiers in what may amount to systematic war crimes that demand prosecution,” according to Reuters.
“The array of violations and abuses perpetrated by ISIL and associated armed groups is staggering, and many of their acts may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity,” said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein.
The group seeks to impose its puritanical interpretation of Islam on areas it controls, which include large swaths of Syria and Iraq. The group continues to expand its territory in Syria, while its advance in Iraq has been halted by US-led airstrikes.
The release of the images coincides with the Islamic State’s release of a new video that features French-speaking fighters threatening attacks on Europe and the US.
One of the men urges sympathizers to carry out attacks around the world. “Do whatever you can. Kill them, slay them, burn their cars, burn their homes,” he says.
The US military said Thursday that 400 US troops will be deployed to the Middle East to train “moderate” Syrian opposition forces as part of the effort against the Islamic State.
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