Mutilation of corpses is forbidden in Islam, except when it isn’t. At the time of the Fallujah incidents some Islamic authorities justified the practice on Islamic grounds.
“Bodies dragged, burned as Mogadishu battles rage,” from Reuters, with thanks to Greg:
MOGADISHU, Somalia (Reuters) — Somali insurgents dragged soldiers’ bodies through the streets of Mogadishu before burning them on Wednesday in heavy fighting that killed at least 13 people and injured scores more, witnesses said.
The corpses of five soldiers — either from the Somali government army or their Ethiopian allies — were desecrated during some of the worst clashes in the lawless capital since the interim government took over in December, witnesses said.
In one place, men dragged two semi-naked corpses by the feet while members of a crowd chanting “God is Great” kicked and pelted them with stones, a Reuters reporter said.