Islamic State Claims Beheading of Iraqi Security Personnel

Baghdad:

The Islamic State group beheaded an Iraqi police officer and a soldier, the latest in a long series of atrocities committed by the jihadists, according to pictures posted online today.

In one photo, a blindfolded man said to be a police lieutenant colonel kneels in a street in front of a row of gunmen.

A masked militant is then shown beheading the victim with a machete, after which his severed head is placed atop his body and the machete driven into his back.

Another photo shows an overweight masked militant apparently struggling to behead a man identified as a captured Iraqi soldier.

The caption says a second soldier was also beheaded, but his death is not shown.

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The authenticity of the photos could not be independently confirmed.

IS spearheaded a sweeping militant offensive in June that overran large areas north and west of Baghdad, and also holds significant territory in neighbouring Syria.

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The brutal militant group has killed thousands of people in both countries, some of them in highly-choreographed videotaped sequences in which the victims are beheaded.

Iraqi security forces, backed by Kurdish troops, Shiite militias, Sunni tribesmen and a US-led campaign of air strikes, have managed to regain some ground from IS.

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But the jihadists still control significant territory, including three major cities.