Iraq court sentences German woman to death by hanging for being member of Islamic State

Baghdad: An Iraqi court said it had condemned to death by hanging a German woman of Moroccan origin after finding her guilty of belonging to the Islamic State jihadist group. She was sentenced for providing "logistical support and helping the terrorist group to carry out crimes," said court spokesman Abdel Settar Bayraqdar.

"The accused admitted during interrogations that she left Germany for Syria then Iraq to join Islamic State with her two daughters, who married members of the terrorist organisation," he said. In September 2017, the same court sentenced to death by hanging a Russian man who was captured in Iraq's second city Mosul and found guilty of fighting for Islamic State. Iraqi forces expelled the jihadists from Mosul in July 2017, ending three years of Islamic State rule in the city.

The same month, a German teenage girl suspected of joining Islamic State was arrested in Mosul, according to Germany's justice department. German daily Der Spiegel reported she had been held in Baghdad with three other German women including one of Moroccan origin. Baghdad declared victory over Islamic State in December after expelling the jihadists from vast areas of Iraq it seized in 2014.

There are no official figures for arrests of jihadists during the battle against Islamic State, but Iraqi commanders and Iraqi Kurdish fighters say hundreds gave themselves up. Others are said to have escaped by blending in with civilians fleeing the fighting. In the province surrounding Mosul alone, more than 4,000 jihadists were arrested, police chief General Wathiq al-Hamdani said.

Despite Baghdad declaring victory over the jihadists, Islamic State has continued to carry out attacks including in the capital.