Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) fighters captured the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar early yesterday.

The swift Isis victory knocked a hole in any hopes the government may have harboured of a quick reversal in the Islamists’ campaign.

Tal Afar’s capture comes a week after the Sunni fighters took Mosul and Tikrit.

The government said that it had regained the initiative against the rebels after retaking two small towns over the weekend.

However Tal Afar had been home to an elite Iraqi army brigade which vanished as soon as the rebels struck, leaving little confidence in government estimates. Local tribesmen, who had continued to fight, later surrendered to Isis.

Residents said that many families had left the town on Sunday, shortly after the fighting broke out.

Tal Afar is home to 200,000 people, with a Turkmen majority and a substantial population of Shi’ites, who have grounds to fear for their safety.

Over the weekend Isis supporters posted graphic photos on websites showing gunmen massacring scores of captured Iraqi soldiers.

The pictures showed masked Isis fighters loading the captives onto flatbed lorries before forcing them to lie face-down in a shallow ditch with their arms tied behind their backs.

The final images showed the bodies of the captives soaked in blood after being executed.

Iraqi military spokesman Lieutenant Geneneral Qassim al-Moussawi confirmed the photos’ authenticity and said he was aware of cases of mass murder in areas held by Isis.