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Human Rights Watch said Sunni militants executed 160 to 190 men at two locations in Tikrit from June 11 to June 14
Group pinpointed two trenches filled with bodies at first location by cross-checking ground features and landmarks
First execution site located in a field near former palace of the late dictator Saddam Hussein, next to the Tigris river
Other images show prisoners at a second execution site being shot in head, but its position could not be located
HRW director: 'Images from Tikrit provide strong evidence of horrible war crime that needs further investigation'

Published: 09:45 GMT, 27 June 2014 | Updated: 12:54 GMT, 27 June 2014

Iraqi insurgents executed at least 160 prisoners in just four days in the northern city of Tikrit, according to a human rights group which cited analysis of satellite imagery and shocking photographs released by the militants.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) killed between 160 and 190 men in two locations in Tikrit between June 11 and June 14.

The group has compiled a series of graphics documenting the massacres after painstakingly cross-referencing landmarks and individuals from various satellite images with pictures posted online by ISIS.

'The number of victims may well be much higher, but the difficulty of locating bodies and accessing the area has prevented a full investigation,' it said.

After overrunning large swaths of northern Iraq and capturing the cities of Mosul and Tikrit earlier this month, the Islamic extremist group posted graphic photos on a militant website that appeared to show fighters loading dozens of captured soldiers onto flatbed trucks.

They were then forced to lie in a shallow ditch with their hands tied behind their backs while apparently being shot in the head. A final set of photos shows bodies piled up.

Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement: 'The photos and satellite images from Tikrit provide strong evidence of a horrible war crime that needs further investigation.'

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Forensic analysis: Human Rights Watch has produced a series of graphics like this which they say document the execution of at least 160 Iraqi prisoners in two locations in Tikrit over four days after cross-referencing landmarks and individuals in images posted by ISIS with satellite photographs