This meant that they must be destroyed, the terrorist organisation argued

Terrorist group ISIS has released photographs of its militants destroying Christian graves with sledgehammers and carving out crosses in the Iraqi city of Mosul.

It's the latest shocking act by the Islamists who are waging a campaign of terror against other religions that has involved mass beheadings and raping.

The images were posted on social media, including the Shomoukh Al-Islam jihadi forum, under the title Leveling Graves And Erasing Pagan Symbols.

Terrorist group ISIS has released photographs of its militants destroying Christian graves with sledgehammers and carving out crosses in the Iraqi city of Mosul

It's the latest shocking act by the Islamists who are waging a campaign of terror against other religions that has involved mass beheadings and raping

The group released a statement with the images that attempted to justify the mass desecration. It said that graves above the ground suggested that the dead person was closer to Allah than the living, so must be demolished and any images on the graves must be erased.

The statement stems from a collection of Islamic teachings known as the hadith, which many Muslims reject.

Steven Stalinsky, executive director of The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), told FoxNews.com that by posting the images on social media, the group was sending a message to the West.

He said: 'It is important to note that ISIS is documenting its destruction and desecration of Christian sites and its attacks on Christian communities, and on other minorities' sites and communities, and is disseminating these images worldwide via social media.

The group released a statement with the images that attempted to justify the mass desecration. It said that graves above the ground suggested that the dead person was closer to Allah than the living, so must be demolished and any images on the graves must be erased

Christians have suffered considerably at the hands of Isis, with many in Iraq and Syria forced by the militants to choose between leaving their homes, facing death or paying a traditional tax on non-Muslims

One expert said that Isis released the video to mock the West, to show that it is powerless to stop the group doing whatever it wants

'By doing this, ISIS is not only showcasing what it is doing, but is also mocking the West by demonstrating that it is doing so freely, with no one trying to stop it.'

Christians have suffered considerably at the hands of Isis, with many in Iraq and Syria forced by the militants to choose between leaving their homes, facing death or paying a traditional tax on non-Muslims.

Earlier this year Isis released a video showing militants beheading 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya and Yazidis have told of fighters abducting hundreds of girls and women and subjecting them to rapes and beatings.

Isis' attack on Iraq's heritage, meanwhile, recently saw Nimrud, once the jewel of Assyria and home to a treasure considered one of the 20th century's main archaeological finds, destroyed by explosives and men armed with power tools.

The UN's cultural agency condemned the act on Monday.

'I condemn this mad, destructive act that accentuates the horror of the situation,' UNESCO head Irina Bokova said in a statement.

The Islamic State group on Saturday circulated an undated video showing militants equipped with sledgehammers and power tools breaking artefacts before rigging the site with large barrels of powder.

The subsequent footage shows a massive explosion and its aftermath, suggesting the ruins of Nimrud - which lie on the Tigris about 30 kilometres (18 miles) southeast of IS-held Mosul - were largely levelled.

Nimrud, founded in the 13th century BC, is one of the most famous archaeological sites in a country often described as the cradle of civilisation.