Iraq hangs three citizens convicted of ‘terrorism’ in wake of Baghdad attack: Source

Iraq has hanged three citizens convicted of “terrorism,” a security source says, in the wake of two deadly bomb attacks in a crowded marketplace in Baghdad that claimed the lives of over 30 people.

“Three people convicted under Article 4 of the anti-terror law were executed on Monday at the Nasiriyah central prison,” the unnamed security source told AFP, four days after a twin bombing, claimed by the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, killed at least 32 people in Baghdad’s Tayaran Square. The blasts also wounded 110 others.

The attacks were a jolting reminder of the persistent threat posed by Daesh, which unleashed its reign of terror in Iraq in mid-2014, swiftly seizing large parts of the Arab country and killing thousands of people.

The notorious terror group, however, was decisively defeated by the government troops and their allied fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) in late 2017. It lost most of its forces and all of its urban strongholds in the Arab country. However, its remnants occasionally launch terror attacks against civilians and government forces alike.

The Iraqi courts have so far sentenced hundreds of detained Daesh members or those who were involved in terrorist acts to death in the war-ravaged Arab country.

Only a small proportion of these sentences have so far been carried out, as they must be approved by the president.

11 executed in Iraq over terrorism charges: Justice ministry

Iraq executes 11 people convicted of terrorism charges, the justice ministry says.

Incumbent President Barham Saleh, who took office in 2018, is known to be against capital punishment, and thus, has largely resisted signing execution orders in the past.

In the wake of Thursday’s attacks, the president is under fire by some activists in social media for adopting a lenient stance toward those who are sentenced to death over terrorism

Furthermore, a protest rally is planned to be held on Tuesday in Nasiriyah, demanding that “Takfiri terrorists” be executed in revenge for the two bomb attacks.

On Sunday, an unnamed official from Iraq’s presidency told AFP that over 340 execution orders “for terrorism or criminal acts” were ready to be carried out, adding, “We are continuing to sign off on more.”

Separately on Monday, another official from Iraq’s presidency, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that all execution orders were signed after 2014, most of them under former president Fuad Masum and at a time when Daesh had seized a third of the country.

In 2005, the Iraqi parliament passed a law that carries the death penalty for anyone convicted of “terrorism.” The law also applies to members of an extremist group even if they are not convicted of any specific acts.

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