Iraq court condemns to death ‘deputy of IS leader’

BAGHDAD: An Iraqi court on Wednesday sentenced a prominent jihadist described as a deputy of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to death on terrorism charges.

“The Karkh criminal court in Baghdad sentenced to death by hanging one of the most prominent leaders of IS, who served as a deputy of Baghdadi,” judicial spokesman Abdel Sattar Bayraqdar said. Ismail Alwan Salman al-Ithawi was extradited from Turkey earlier this year having fled Syria as the group’s self-proclaimed “caliphate” crumbled. He was tracked and detained through cooperation between Turkish, Iraqi and US intelligence agencies, a senior Iraqi official told AFP in February. A native of the Iraqi city of Ramadi, Ithawi was accused of holding several positions including IS “minister” in charge of religious edicts.