Shocking pictures show militants lifting concrete blocks high above their heads as the condemned men lie at the side of the road with their hands tied.

Other images show the gruesome aftermath, the concrete blocks having been hurled onto their skulls.

The two men were bludgeoned to death in Nineveh province in northern Iraq after the Islamic police arrested them for robbing and killing three women.

It is known as a qisas punishment - 'eye for an eye' retribution.

In the background stand bloodthirsty armed jihadists and a baying crowd.

Images of two men being behead by Isis in a Syrian village called Jarnyah, west of Raqqa, also appeared on social media this week.

It's thought that they were executed after being accused of practicing sorcery.

The blindfolded men are seen resting their heads on a wooden block, with a huge machete resting on their necks as a crowd looks on.

Last week pictures emerged of depraved Islamic State militants in Syria brutally stoning two gay men to death only seconds after they were photographed embracing and 'forgiving' them.

The shocking images were taken in ISIS-held territory in the province of Homs and show the two accused men being savagely executed by up to four jihadis.

So far, however, the government has avoided deploying the militia in the Euphrates River valley province of Anbar west of the capital, a vast Sunni tribal homeland that strides the main routes to Jordan and Syria. Baghdad considers Anbar the next target in its campaign to retake territory from the militants.

But with the army advance having faltered, officials are now speaking openly about dispatching the militia, organised under the umbrella of 'Hashid Shaabi' - 'Popular Mobilisation'.

This could alarm the United States, which is supporting the Iraqi government from the air against Islamic State fighters but is wary of Baghdad's alliance with Shi'ite militiamen who openly receive arms, funds and strategic direction from Iran.

Some Anbar tribal figures fighting on the government side against Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, have issued calls in recent days for Baghdad to send the militia to their aid.

(dailymail.co.uk)