[Q] Unable to delete photos

[NB2A]

It seems when I try to delete photos from my phone either through windows or directly even with root explorer I get the message unable to delete them because they are protected. They are on my SD card and from whatsapp. Is there a way to do this? I have never had issue trying to delete files. I am running a Verizon Note 2 with Alliance build 30. Thank you and happy holidays.