Wish-ISIS-releases-tourist-brochure-style-images-bustling-food-markets-jihadi-stronghold-Mosul.html

Photographs were taken in the terror group's northern Iraqi stronghold
Images show crowded market stalls loaded with olives, pickles and sweets
Carefree shoppers browse the stalls seemingly oblivious to ongoing war
Mosul is on the frontline of the Iraq's fightback against the Islamic State

Published: 17:50 GMT, 4 March 2015 | Updated: 21:22 GMT, 4 March 2015

Militants fighting for the Islamic State in Iraq have released bizarre new photographs attempting to portray daily life under the terror group as a world of bustling marketplaces and delicious food.

Taken in the ISIS' Iraqi power base of Mosul in Nineveh province, the travel brochure-type images show crowded market stalls loaded with olives, pickles and all manner of sweets.

The propaganda images attempt to portray a 'business as usual' type atmosphere among the city's stall-holders, despite the fact recapturing Mosul is the number one priority of a fightback campaign launched by the 30,000-strong coalition of Iraqi Army soldiers and Shia militia earlier this week.

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Abundance: Taken in the ISIS' Iraqi power base of Mosul in Nineveh province, the travel brochure-type images show crowded market stalls loaded with olives, pickles and all manner of sweets

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Propaganda: The images attempt to portray a 'business as usual' type atmosphere among Mosul stall-holders

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On sale: A shopkeeper sells perfumes and hair products on his stall in the ISIS stronghold of Mosul

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Buying his dinner: A man browses food stalls in the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul

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Delicious: Trays of sweet baklava desserts give a sense of abundance in the crisis-hit city of Mosul

Images of the Mosul marketplace show pizzas and succulent burgers being cooked amid bustling stalls packed with all manner of sweet treats and toys for children.

Men are seen browsing the stalls nonchalantly, seemingly oblivious to the fact the city is an ISIS stronghold and on the frontline of the Iraqi regime's freshly launched fightback against the terrorists.

Trays of sweet baklava give a sense of abundance in the crisis-hit city, which is considered key to ISIS presence in Iraq thanks to the millions of pounds generated each day from the militant-held oil fields dotted around Nineveh province.

The photographs are even captioned with the slogan 'Wish you were here' in a chilling imitation of the hit 1980s British travel programme hosted by Judith Chalmers.

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Business as usual: Men are seen browsing the stalls nonchalantly, seemingly oblivious to the fact the city is an ISIS stronghold and on the frontline of the Iraqi regime's freshly launched fightback against the terrorists

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Westernised: Images of the Mosul marketplace show pizzas and succulent burgers being cooked amid bustling stalls packed with all manner of sweet treats and toys for children

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Unconcerned: Despite the fact recapturing Mosul is the number one priority of a fightback campaign launched by the 30,000-strong coalition of Iraqi Army soldiers and Shia militia earlier this week

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Grim: The photographs are even captioned with the slogan 'Wish you were here' in a chilling imitation of the hit 1980s British travel programme hosted by Judith Chalmers

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Heaving: The images show Mosul market stalls loaded with olives, pickles and all manner of sweets

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Carefree: A man browses religious books in the Islamic State's Iraqi stronghold of Mosul

The images emerged as U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said that an American military official who briefed news media about Iraq's upcoming offensive to retake Mosul provided inaccurate information but should never have publicly discussed war plans.

Carter's criticism of the February news briefing by an official from the U.S. military's Central Command was accompanied by an assurance from the top U.S. military officer to Congress that the matter was subject to an internal inquiry.

Ash Carter explains Pentagon bungle over Mosul attack plans

'That clearly was neither accurate information, nor had it been accurate, would have it been information that should have been blurted out to the press. So it's wrong on both scores,' Carter, who took over as defense secretary in February, told a hearing by the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Two influential Republican senators on the committee, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, sent a letter to the White House on Feb. 20, complaining about the briefing, which predicted a Mosul offensive likely to start in April or May, involving 20,000 to 25,000 Iraqi and Kurdish forces.

Mosul, which had a population of more than 1 million people, was captured by Islamic State fighters in June and is the largest city in the group's self-declared caliphate, a stretch of territory that straddles the border between northern Iraq and eastern Syria.