The rotten corpses of the Islamic State militants have been filled with fly eggs and have been lying along a main street in north Mosul in Iraq for two weeks, a health risk for passersby.
Suicide bomber's belts still worn or torn next to the fighters can still explode anytime, killing anyone nearby.
The Iraqi army, however, has no intention of burying the jihadists and hopes as many people as possible will get a good look at their decaying bodies, torn apart by bombs and bullets.
As Iraqi forces prepare to expand their offensive against Islamic State from east to west Mosul, they want to stamp out any sympathy that residents may have for the group, which won instant support when it seized the vast city in 2014.
"We will leave the terrorists there," said Ibrahim Mohamed, a soldier who was standing near three dead jihadists, ignoring the stench.
Mohamed's cousin suffered death by electrocution at the hands of jihadists during the Islamic State's rule of Mosul simply because he was a policeman.
"The message is clear to Iraqis, to keep them from joining or supporting Daesh (Islamic State). This will be your fate. The Iraqi army will finish you off," he said.
A suicide bomber's belt, with its pin still in place, lay on the street a few feet away, close to a soiled clothing once worn by a militant.
The Iraqi forces have recently taken half of Mosul and are poised to enter the western side of the city. Victory there would mean the end of Islamic State's self-proclaimed caliphate, though Iraqi officials expect the group to fight.
Psychological Weapon
The corpses are left on view as a psychological weapon to deter Islamic State sleeper cells, which Iraqi officials say are highly effective and distributed accross the country.
The Islamic State has executed thousands of Iraqi soldiers and policement, and their comrades are very eager for revenge.
"We leave them in the street like that so the dogs eat them," said soldier Asaad Hussein. "We also want the citizens to know there is a price for supporting terrorists."
Labourer Youssef Salim observed the corpses, still with army boots on their feet, and paused to reflect on life under Islamic State, which has lost ground in Iraq and other Arab countries. He said the bodies should not be moved.
"Do you know what smoking one, just one cigarette meant?" he asked. "Twenty-five lashes in a public square where people were forced to watch you suffer.
"If your beard length did not meet their requirements, that was a month in jail and 100 lashes in public."
Spreading Fear
The militants are no longer in charge in east Mosul but they are still very capable of spreading fear.
A few streets away, a group of young boys walked towards three other Islamic State corpses.
"The bodies should stay. Daesh killed lots of people so why should they be buried," said Salem Jamil, 13, who was carrying a plastic bag filled with old electric wiring he hopes to sell.
A man who approached the same bodies, however, said the bodies should be buried because that is everyone's right.
Source: Reuters
Images: Reuters | Business Insider | Iraqi News | The Star | International Business Times
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