Why the State Department Tweeted 'Photos' of Dead ISIS Fighters

By Chris Good September 24, 2014

(Yaser Al-Khodor/Reuters)

Think Again Turn Away - the U.S. State Department's anti-jihad Twitter messaging arm - tweeted warnings and images today meant to dissuade anyone from being radicalized and becoming a terrorist.

The account, @ThinkAgain_DOS, tweeted photos that appear to show U.S. airstrikes against ISIS in Syria and dead bodies being zipped into body bags, apparently ISIS fighters killed in the bombing campaign.

The U.S., along with several Arab nations, began a bombing campaign on Monday to eliminate ISIS targets in Syria. The bombs began falling late at night on Sept. 22, in Eastern time, which would be Sept. 23 in Syria-the date referenced on the photos.

Airstrikes 'Successful' Against ISIS Targets in Syria, US Military Says The images lack context, so it's not certain that the corpses belong to ISIS fighters, who took the photos, or where they were taken.

The State Dept. and the @ThinkAgain_DOS account have not yet returned ABC News requests for comment.

The account highlights messages from the State Dept., ISIS atrocities, jihadists wanted or arrested by law-enforcement authorities and favorable tidbits about the Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting ISIS. All are part of an anti-jihad PR campaign aimed at countering the spread of Islamic extremism online.

Another tweet, from Tuesday, showed Pentagon video of U.S. strikes against ISIS:

ISIS has gained infamy for using social media to communicate propaganda, spread its ideology, and recruit fighters from around the world.

@ThinkAgain_DOS has served as the State Dept.'s antidote to that trend.