Instagram bans account 'letting internet decide' fate of captured ISIS jihadis

THE fate of captured ISIS fighters was put to public vote on an Instagram account banned from the internet.

RUTHLESS: The disputed Instagram account claims to let the internet decide the fate of fighters

But the account – which claimed to be run by the Iraqi military – has been slammed as "fake" by security experts.

Pictures uploaded to the account showed hogtied jihadis with captions announcing the internet had an hour to decide their fates.

In some cases further photos were posted showing the executed bodies of fighters, to prove the group had honoured the vote.

DEATH BY DEMOCRACY: But experts have raised doubts about the veracity of the page

One post announced: "We have arrested one of ISIS south of Mosul. You can vote for kill him or let him go.

"You have one hour to vote. We will post his fate after one hour. Tag your friends and take your right.

"Take your revenge from ISIS right now. Please we don't have time, just one hour, so tag your friends."

A subsequent photo showed the prisoner face down in the dirt with a caption thanking Instagram users for voting.

SLAUGHTERED: Soldiers in the aftermath of a killing

With another photo the account claimed to have arrested one "big f***** of ISIS" and asked for people to vote on his fate.

Experts from the Henry Jackson society believe the photos are genuine and could show a paramilitary group that could include ex-Iraqi special forces.

But there was no guarantee the person captured was an ISIS Fighter, they said, as any military-age male in occupied territory could be treated as a collaborator.

Other security sources said the account, IraqiSwat, was simply lifting photos from different social media pages and reposting them.

CAPTURED: The account has been accused of wrecking the reputation of the Iraqi army

Iraqi security analyst, Haidar Sumeri, said: “It’s a fake account run by kids who don’t live in Iraq.

"Most of the images they post are taken from Facebook accounts of fighters or from YouTube videos,” he told the New York Daily News.

RT correspondent Eisa Ali said such fake executions were detrimental to the reputation of the Iraqi army, which is trying to push back Islamic State.

“It definitely hurts the army’s efforts because it tarnishes the soldiers’ reputation in front of the international community and civilians waiting for the army to liberate them," he said.

Instagram has now deleted the account and a backup account for violating its community guidelines.

Islamic State – also known as Daesh – is facing attacks on its self-proclaimed Caliphate on several fronts in Iraq and Syria.

As a warning to its rivals, ISIS beheaded three Kurdish fighters in a new video from an occupied city.