Thief has his hand cut off in front of a baying crowd

The graphic images, which were posted online, give the first indication of how the shocking amputation punishment is being carried out as ISIS delivers its own twisted form of justice.

The horrific sentence was carried out in the Iraqi border town of Qa'im, in Euphrates province. 

In front of a large crowd of men, the victim was blindfolded with a large patterned scarf and forced to place his arm on a table.

One masked Islamic State fighter, wearing surgical gloves and a grey and pink striped jumper underneath his camouflage military vest, is shown trying to keep the victim's arm steady.

On the table, the victim's arm has been stretched out on top of a wooden plank, covered with a white cloth. A large bottle of antiseptic is also positioned on the edge of the table.

A rope is tied around the victim's wrist, allowing another Islamic State fighter to yank the severed hand away from the arm after it has been hacked off with a cleaver. 

One especially grisly image shows the detached hand in mid air, still tied to the rope.

ISIS fighters also posted a high definition photo of the man's severed hand showing that the amputation was not a clean cut, leaving bone and tissue hanging from the hand.

A final photo of the victim's stump being covered in a gauze bandage is also shown. 

Typically ISIS would also release an image of the victim hugging the fighter who has punished him, but this was not done in this case.

The vile punishment comes days after Islamic State posted photos of a man being flogged for watching pornography in Syria.

According to captions on the photographs, the man was found guilty of 'watching pornographic videos' and was publicly whipped in front of a large crowd in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor.

The victim appears to be in his early 20s and is smartly dressed in a red jumper. In front of a large crowd, the man is shown being whipped by an Islamic State fighter.

As is customary in Islamic State punishment propaganda, the final photograph appears to be a staged scene, where the victim is shown hugging the IS fighter who has just punished him as an act of forgiveness.

Last month, Islamic State released a document on social media, explaining the rules of Islamic State penal code, which is being brutally enforced across IS-held territory in Syria and Iraq.

Entitled 'Clarification [regarding] the Hudud', the document contains a list of the punishments handed out for crimes committed in the Islamic State, in accordance with the extremist group's radical interpretation of Shariah law.

All punishments are carried out after a 'trial' at an Islamic State court. After the sentencing, the prisoner is taken into the centre of the town or city. 

Men and young boys of all ages are actively encouraged to gather and watch the punishments.

(dailymail.co.uk)