Iraq Court Sentences 4 ISIS Members to Death for Manufacturing Drones

Iraqi forces are seen by their military vehicles during an operation against ISIS remnants. (Reuters file photo)
Iraqi forces are seen by their military vehicles during an operation against ISIS remnants. (Reuters file photo)
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Iraq Court Sentences 4 ISIS Members to Death for Manufacturing Drones

Iraqi forces are seen by their military vehicles during an operation against ISIS remnants. (Reuters file photo)
Iraqi forces are seen by their military vehicles during an operation against ISIS remnants. (Reuters file photo)

Iraq's Central Criminal Court in Iraq issued four death sentences against ISIS terrorists on Monday for manufacturing drones and explosives to attack security forces.

Iraq is seeking to limit the use of weapons on its territory with the spread of many armed factions, some of which targeted US bases after the eruption of the war in Gaza on October 7.

The media center of the Supreme Judicial Council said that terrorists provided logistical support to ISIS to target the security forces.

Cooperation with International Criminal Court

Ahead of the convictions, Prime Minister Mohammad Shiaa al-Sudani met in Baghdad with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Ahmad Khan.

According to a statement from Sudani's office, the Prime Minister called on the ICC to assist Iraq in identifying supporters of terrorism.

The officials discussed cooperation mechanisms between the Iraqi government and the ICC to hold ISIS terrorists accountable in a way that helps bring justice to the thousands of victims who were killed by terrorism.

Sudani stressed the need to support Iraq in prosecuting and holding the terrorists accountable for the loss of Iraqi lives and brutal massacres of civilians.

"Iraq fought terrorism on behalf of the world, was able to defeat it, and made many sacrifices for that."

For his part, Khan stressed the ICC's keenness to prosecute and bring to justice members of terrorist organizations in Iraq.

He asserted that the Iraqis defeated the terrorist ISIS through their unity, cohesion, and determination to cleanse their land.

Harir Airport

Separately, the Kurdish Rudaw network reported on Sunday that a large explosion was heard at Harir Airport in Erbil, northern Iraq.

It did not immediately provide further details.

Iraqi armed factions have repeatedly targeted the base near Erbil Airport and another in western Iraq in response to the war in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Karkh Criminal Court in Baghdad sentenced two persons to life in prison for illegal drug trafficking.

Under the complex litigation procedures in Iraq, these rulings are not final and can be appealed. Some cases can be put to a retrial because some convicts provide their statements under coercion or torture.



Türkiye Says Over 25,0000 Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall

(FILES) Syrians living in Türkiye push a cart loaded with their furniture at the Cilvegozu border crossing gate in Reyhanli on December 12, 2024, on their way back to their country. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
(FILES) Syrians living in Türkiye push a cart loaded with their furniture at the Cilvegozu border crossing gate in Reyhanli on December 12, 2024, on their way back to their country. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
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Türkiye Says Over 25,0000 Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall

(FILES) Syrians living in Türkiye push a cart loaded with their furniture at the Cilvegozu border crossing gate in Reyhanli on December 12, 2024, on their way back to their country. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
(FILES) Syrians living in Türkiye push a cart loaded with their furniture at the Cilvegozu border crossing gate in Reyhanli on December 12, 2024, on their way back to their country. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)

More than 25,000 Syrians have returned home from Türkiye since Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by HTS opposition fighters, Türkiye's interior minister said Tuesday.

Türkiye is home to nearly three million refugees who fled the civil war that broke out in 2011, and whose presence has been an issue for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.

"The number of people returning to Syria in the last 15 days has exceeded 25,000," Ali Yerlikaya told the official Anadolu news agency.

Ankara is in close touch with Syria's new leaders and now focusing on the voluntary return of Syrian refugees, hoping the shift in power in Damascus will allow many of them to return home.

According to AFP, Yerlikaya said a migration office would be established in the Turkish embassy and consulate in Damascus and Aleppo so that the records of returning Syrians could be kept.

Türkiye reopened its embassy in Damascus, nearly a week after Assad was toppled by forces backed by Ankara, and 12 years after the diplomatic outpost was shuttered early in Syria's civil war.