The Islamic militant group that seized much of northern Iraq has posted photos that appear to show its fighters shooting dead dozens of captured Iraqi soldiers.
The pictures on a militant website appear to show masked fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant loading the captives onto flatbed trucks before forcing them to lie face-down in a shallow ditch with their arms tied behind their backs.
The final images appear to show the bodies of the captives soaked in blood after being shot.
Captions say the killings were to avenge the death of an Islamic state commander.
Iraq's top military spokesman, Lt Gen Qassim al-Moussawi, confirmed the photos' authenticity today and said he was aware of cases of mass murder of captured Iraqi soldiers.
