Iraqi troops say IS fighters caught fleeing battlefield disguised as women

Iraqi forces have claimed that many Islamic State (IS) fighters are escaping a battlefield in the north of the country by dressing as women.

A series of pictures posted on Instagram showed several glammed-up freshly captured IS jihadists, with their beards and moustaches shaved off, wearing make-up. Some of them also wore silk bras and dresses beneath their burkas, reported The Mirror.

Captions suggested that the pictures were taken in the Baiji area of northern Iraq.

Iraqi troops have fought an almost continuous battle around an important oil refinery there, backed up by U.S.-led air strikes.