BAGHDAD, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi judiciary on Thursday issued death penalties against 13 people for joining the extremist Islamic State (IS) group and being involved in a plot to carry out deadly attacks.
A statement by the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council said that an Iraqi court issued the death penalties after the convicts confessed to joining the extremist group and their intention to carry out terrorist attacks during the holy month of Ramadan in 2019.
The statement came three days after another court issued four death sentences and life imprisonment against a local IS leader for his involvement in various terrorist crimes in Salahudin province north of the capital Baghdad.
In June 2014, the IS group took control of large swathes of territories in western and northern Iraq, including Salahudin. Iraq officially declared full liberation from IS militants on Dec. 9, 2017 after three years of battles. Enditem