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Iraq Hangs Three on Terrorism Charges

Iraqi forces arrive to take part in a victory celebration after defeating ISIS in Mosul, Iraq July 2, 2017. (Reuters)
Iraqi forces arrive to take part in a victory celebration after defeating ISIS in Mosul, Iraq July 2, 2017. (Reuters)
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Iraq Hangs Three on Terrorism Charges

Iraqi forces arrive to take part in a victory celebration after defeating ISIS in Mosul, Iraq July 2, 2017. (Reuters)
Iraqi forces arrive to take part in a victory celebration after defeating ISIS in Mosul, Iraq July 2, 2017. (Reuters)

Iraq on Tuesday hanged three men convicted of terrorism offenses in a prison in the city of Nasiriyah, two security sources told AFP.

One of those executed was found guilty of involvement in a summer 2013 car bombing in Nasiriyah, one of the sources said.

A second was convicted for his part in a similar attack in Karbala province further north, the source added.

Iraq executed more than 50 people in 2020, the fourth highest number in the world, according to human rights group Amnesty International. Many were convicted members of the ISIS terror group.

The group overran large swathes of northern and western Iraq in a lighting offensive in 2014 before eventually succumbing to counter-attacks by government forces in 2017.

Murder as well as terrorism offenses is punishable by death in Iraq.

Tuesday’s executions bring the number put to death this year to 17, according to an AFP tally.

All were executed in Nasiryah prison.

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France Expels 12 Algerian Officials in Tit-for-Tat Move amid Diplomatic Tensions

Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)
Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)
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France Expels 12 Algerian Officials in Tit-for-Tat Move amid Diplomatic Tensions

Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)
Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)

France said Tuesday it was expelling 12 Algerian diplomatic officials a day after Algeria announced the expulsion of the same number of French officials in escalating tensions between the two countries.

Algeria said Monday that its expulsion of 12 French officials was over the arrest of an Algerian consular official by French authorities in a kidnapping case, but relations between the two sides have been deteriorating since last summer. That's when France shifted its position to support Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara — a disputed territory claimed by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which receives support from Algeria.

Tensions further peaked in November after Algeria arrested French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who is an outspoken critic of the Algerian regime. He has since been sentenced to five years in prison — a verdict he subsequently appealed.

In addition to what French officials called the "symmetrically" calibrated expulsion of 12 Algerian officials, France's ambassador to Algiers also was being recalled home for consultations, a statement from the French presidential palace said Tuesday.

It said Algerian authorities were responsible for "a brutal deterioration in our bilateral relations."

French counterterrorism prosecutors said three Algerian nationals in total were arrested last week and handed preliminary charges of "kidnapping or arbitrary detention … in connection with a terrorist undertaking."

The group is allegedly involved in the April 2024 kidnapping of an Algerian influencer, Amir Boukhors, or Amir DZ, a known critic of the Algerian government with 1.1 million followers on TikTok.

The latest surge in acrimony followed a brief easing of tensions about two weeks ago when French President Emmanuel Macron called Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune. French officials said they had agreed to revive bilateral relations.