A Court in Iraq Sentences 'Deputy of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi' to Death

A court in Iraq on Wednesday sentenced a senior jihadist fighter described as the deputy of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State group, to death for committing terrorist crimes. This individual was arrested in Turkey. According to the French news agency, the spokesperson for the Iraqi judiciary stated: 'The Baghdad criminal court has sentenced one of the senior leaders of ISIS, who was the deputy of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to death by hanging.' Iraqi officials announced in February that this senior member of the Islamic State group, named Ismail Alwan Salman Al-Ithawi, was arrested in Turkey and handed over to Iraq. After the collapse of the self-proclaimed caliphate, he initially fled from Iraq to Syria and then to Turkey. At that time, a senior Iraqi official told the French news agency that he was arrested as a result of cooperation between the security agencies of Iraq, Turkey, and the United States. He added that his arrest occurred after an Iraqi security unit, which was pursuing members of the Islamic State group, managed to infiltrate the higher levels of this group. Al-Ithawi, who is from the city of Ramadi in Iraq, was accused of holding significant responsibilities in this group, including 'Minister of Religious Affairs.' Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who is from Iraq, is now considered 'the most wanted fugitive in the world,' with the U.S. government offering a $25 million reward for his capture. There have been several reports of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death, but an Iraqi security official stated in May that he is still alive and is likely hiding in Syrian territory near the border with Iraq. The leader of the Islamic State group, in his most recent video released last month, called on Muslims to join 'jihad.' He has only appeared publicly once, in July 2014, at a mosque in Mosul during a public gathering. The Iraqi judiciary has so far sentenced several hundred people, including about 100 foreign women, to death for their connections with the Islamic State group, and dozens of these convicts have already been executed. According to an Iraqi judicial official, on Thursday, more individuals, including nine Tajik women, were sentenced to life imprisonment. Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized Iraq for the high number of death sentences issued by its anti-terrorism courts. The Iraqi government declared victory over the Islamic State group in December 2017 after about three years of war. At its peak, this group controlled about one-third of Iraq's territory and large areas of Syria. Since then, the Iraqi army has continued its operations in remote desert areas where fighters are still active. In Syria, last week, U.S.-backed groups attacked an area controlled by the Islamic State group in the Deir ez-Zor province near the Iraq border.