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)
TT

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.



Israeli Troops Battle Palestinian Fighters in Gaza City of Khan Younis

 Smoke rises following Israeli strikes during an Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises following Israeli strikes during an Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

Israeli Troops Battle Palestinian Fighters in Gaza City of Khan Younis

 Smoke rises following Israeli strikes during an Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises following Israeli strikes during an Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)

Israeli troops battled Palestinian fighters in Khan Younis in southern Gaza and destroyed tunnels and other infrastructure, as they sought to suppress small militant units that have continued to hit troops with mortar fire, the military said on Friday.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said troops had killed around 100 Palestinian fighters since Israeli troops began their latest operation in Khan Younis on Monday, which continued as pressure mounted for a deal to halt the fighting.

It said seven small units that had been firing mortars at the troops were hit in an air strike, while further south, in Rafah, four fighters were also killed in air strikes.

The Islamic Jihad armed wing said it fired rockets toward the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon and other Israeli towns near Gaza. No casualties were reported, the Israeli ambulance service said.

The continued fighting, more than nine months since the start of Israel's invasion of Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack, underlined the difficulty the IDF has had in eliminating fighters who have reverted to a form of guerrilla warfare in the ruins of the coastal strip.

A Telegram channel operated by the armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two main militant groups in Gaza, said fighters had been waging fierce battles with Israeli troops east of Khan Younis with machine guns, mortars and anti-tank weapons.

Medics said at least six Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in eastern Khan Younis.

US PRESSURE

US President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president, both urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a proposed ceasefire deal as soon as possible.

However there has been no clear sign of movement in talks to end the fighting and bring home some 115 Israeli and foreign hostages still being held in Gaza. Public statements from Israel and Hamas appear to indicate that serious differences remain between the two sides.

Local residents contacted by messenger app, said Israeli tanks had pushed into three towns to the east of Khan Younis, Bani Suhaila, Al-Zanna and Al-Karara and blew up several houses in some residential districts.

The military said air force jets hit around 45 targets, including tunnels and two launch pads from which rockets were fired into Beersheba in southern Israel.

Even while the fighting continued around Khan Younis and Rafah in the south, in the northern part of the enclave, Israeli tanks pushed into the Tel Al-Hawa suburb west of Gaza city, residents said.

A Hamas Telegram channel said fighters targeted an Israeli tank in Tal Al-Hawa and shot an Israeli soldier.

Medics said two Palestinians were also killed in an air strike in western Gaza city.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting in Gaza, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants.

Israeli officials estimate that some 14,000 fighters from armed groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have been killed or taken prisoner, out of a force they estimated to number more than 25,000 at the start of the war.