U.S. steps up Twitter war with ISIS

The U.S. State Department has ratcheted up its online campaign to steer potential recruits away from joining terrorist organizations, posting gruesome photos of dead militants and remarks on the brutality of extremists.

A Twitter account called “'Think Again Turn Away” recently blasted the image of four dead bodies, thought to be militants killed in the U.S.-led airstrikes on Syria, to its nearly 8,000 followers.

The same account distributed in recent weeks a mock ISIS recruitment video which criticizes the group over its mass executions and the destruction of historical sites in Iraq and Syria.

The opening scene of the video showed a mosque being demolished, followed by a snapshot of a decapitated body.

It ended with the slogan: “Travel is inexpensive, because you won't need a return ticket!”

State Department Deputy Spokeswoman Marie Harf spoke to reporters on Sept 5, saying the campaign had already “been appearing in Arabic for quite some time. We are doing more in English as well.”

ISIS has an active presence on social media, using it to distribute videos of beheadings, information on how to travel to Syria and blog style posts on what it is like to live among its ranks.

An ISIS-linked account claimed Tuesday that the “first victims of air strikes by U.S. on Syria” were “children and women.”