Men might be dressing as women to flee Isis. But this one isn't

Photos reportedly released by the armed forces in Iraq appear to show a captured Isis fighter trying to escape Mosul disguised as a woman.

In late June the Iraqi army, backed by coalition air support, recaptured the old city of Mosul in Iraq.

The city had been under Isis occupation since 2014.

In the pictures, which have been distributed widely by the press, a man is shown wearing powder, red lipstick, eye make up, and a head scarf.

However, it has emerged that this is not the case.

The picture of the man in make up has been around since at least 2015, and has cropped up on thousands of pages, including this blog.

The main fighting for Mosul is only just coming to an end now, in 2017 - there are still numerous areas where fighting is taking place.

There have in the past been other examples of Isis fighters who have been caught in a similar garb before.

In November 2016 the Daily Star reported that Isis commander Abu Omar al-Assafi was caught trying to blend into a crowd of women, by dressing as one, in order to evade the Iraqi army.

HT Daily Mail Les Observateurs

More: Spreading hate: How white supremacists hijacked social media