Everybody Is Taking Selfies In The Battle For Mosul

Lt. Gen. Abdel Wahab Saadi, Iraqi Special Forces commander, center, does not have a Facebook account but has posed for enough selfies that troops recognize him - and request more. (Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Los Angeles Times)

Chicago Tribune/L.A. Times: In the battle for Mosul, everybody's taking selfies — and some of them may be incriminating

With the offensive to reclaim the Iraqi city of Mosul now in its third month, smartphones are everywhere on the battlefield, where the appetite for selfie photos is proving to be irresistible — and problematic.

Troops and commanders pose atop tanks, Humvees, checkpoints and even on the front lines with bullets flying. They snap pictures of themselves with a mix of generals, civilians, reporters, priests, doctors, babies and anything associated with the Islamic State, including flags, detainees and bodies.

They document themselves with reality-show glee clearing Islamic State tunnels, hoisting salvaged weapons, pointing to graffiti, prisoners and corpses. The photos are far from an official archive of events. But as questions arise about the Iraqi military's treatment of detainees and the bodies of dead fighters, amateur images may become evidence.

Human Rights Watch has cited the amateur photos and videos in complaints about extrajudicial executions of prisoners and other abuses during the offensive.

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WNU Editor: If I was there .... I would also be taking selfies.