A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. government must release photographs that show the abuse of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan, settling a long battle over whether the world should see how the U.S. treated prisoners.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein sets a two-month deadline for the government to determine whether it will appeal the case before the release of the photos, according to a Associated Press report.

The American Civil Liberties Union has been battling with the U.S. government over the issue for a while now. The Defense Department is currently studying the ruling and will act accordingly, said a spokesman according to the report.

ACLU said the images must be released as they are important to a national debate over the abuse of prisoners and accountability of the government.

Images of abuse in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq caused an uproar in 2004 and 2006, with shocking images of detainees being abused at the hands of soldiers, and the ACLU used that example to show that the images exist and should be released.

It is uncertain how many photos exist, with the government saying there are 29 pictures from seven sites in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Hellerstein said there are likely thousands more. He said some photos were “innocuous” while others required serious review. He said the images would be redacted to protect the identities of the people in them.

Some of the pictures include soldiers pointing guns at the heads of hooded detainees. The government says that if pictures of its treatment of detainees were to be released, it would incite attacks against U.S. forces. The government is concerned that pictures of its soldiers’ behavior would incite the Islamic State and encourage supporters to attack U.S. personnel.