After victory over ISIS in key Iraqi town, time for revenge

As the angry crowd of militiamen around the unarmed militants swelled, shots rang out. The three men lay soaked in blood in the dirt with gunshot wounds to the head.

“Those dogs are Chechens. They don’t deserve to stay alive. We took confessions from them and we don’t need them anymore,” said one of the Shi’ite militiamen.

The victory could allow Iraqi forces to prevent the Sunni insurgents from edging closer to the capital, sever connections to their strongholds in western Anbar province and stop them infiltrating the mainly Shi’ite Muslim south.

Asked why the three men were executed, an army officer in Jurf al-Sakhar said: “We don’t need them anymore. Why should we keep them alive?”