Iraq sentenced more than 600 foreigners including many women and dozens of minors in 2018 for belonging to the Islamic State group, the judiciary said on Monday.

Iraq declared "victory" over IS at the end of 2017 after a three-year war against the jihadists, who once controlled nearly a third of the country as well as swathes of neighbouring Syria.

Around 20,000 people suspected of links to IS have been arrested since 2014.

Judicial spokesman Abdel Sattar Bayraqdar said Monday that "616 men and women accused of belonging to IS have been put on trial" in 2018 and sentenced under Iraq's anti-terrorism law.

They comprised 466 women, 42 men and 108 minors, he said.

Bayraqdar did not, however specify the punishments.

Under Iraq's anti-terrorism law courts can issue verdicts, including death sentences, against anyone found guilty of belonging to the jihadist group, including non-combatants.

In April, judicial sources said that more than 300 suspects linked to IS had received death sentences and more than 300 others were sentenced to life, which in Iraq is equivalent to 20 years.

Most of the women sentenced for IS links were from Turkey and republics of the former Soviet Union.

Three French citizens -- two women and a man -- have been sentenced to life imprisonment while a German woman, a Belgian man and a Russian man have been sentenced to death.

Many women had travelled to Iraq with their children to join their husbands who fought in the ranks of IS.

Some are still waiting to be repatriated to their home countries.

On Sunday, 30 Russian children whose mothers are in prison in Iraq for links to IS were flown from Baghdad to Moscow as part of a repatriation programme championed by Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov.

Related Links
The Long War - Doctrine and Application

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

German IS woman let 'slave' girl, 5, die of thirst: prosecutors
Berlin (AFP) Dec 28, 2018
German prosecutors on Friday announced war crimes charges against a female member of the Islamic State jihadist group who let a five-year-old girl die of thirst in the scorching sun. While living in then IS-occupied Mosul, Iraq, the 27-year-old German citizen identified only as Jennifer W. and her husband had purchased the child as a household "slave" in 2015, said prosecutors. "After the girl fell ill and wet her mattress, the husband of the accused chained her up outside as punishment and let ... read more