Militants post images of mass Iraqi killings

As the Iraqi government bolstered Baghdad’s defences yesterday, the Islamic militant group that captured two major cities last week posted graphic photos that appeared to show its fighters massacring dozens of Iraqi soldiers.

The pictures on a militant website appear to show masked fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, 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 show the bodies of the captives soaked in blood after being shot.