Widow of Slain Islamic State Leader Sentenced to Death

One of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's wives sentenced by Iraqi court for her role in crimes
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 11, 2024 12:00 AM CDT
Wife of Slain Islamic State Leader Sentenced to Death
This file image released by the Department of Defense on Oct. 30, 2019, shows an image of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.   (Department of Defense via AP, File)

An Iraqi court issued a death sentence against one of the wives of the late brutal Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, alleging that she was complicit in crimes committed against Yazidi women captured by the militant group, the country's judiciary announced Wednesday. The ruling comes weeks before the 10-year mark since ISIS launched attacks against the Yazidi religious minority in the northern Iraqi region of Sinjar, killing and capturing thousands—including women and girls who were subjected to human trafficking and sexual abuse. The United Nations said the campaign against the Yazidis amounted to genocide. A statement by Iraq's judicial council said the Karkh Criminal Court sentenced the woman for "detaining Yazidi women in her home" and facilitating their kidnapping by "the terrorist (Islamic State group) gangs in Sinjar district."

The statement also said the ruling was issued in accordance with Iraq's anti-terrorism law and its "Yazidi survivors law." It did not name the defendant, but two court officials identified her as Asma Mohammed, who was arrested in 2018 in Turkey and later extradited. A senior Iraqi security official told the AP that another wife of al-Baghdadi and his daughter, who were also extradited from Turkey to Iraq, had been sentenced to life in prison. The sentences were handed down a week ago but were announced by the judicial council Wednesday, he said. On June 29, 2014, al-Baghdadi, known as one of the most ruthlessly effective jihadist leaders of modern times, declared the militant group's caliphate in large swaths of Iraq and Syria. In 2019, he was killed in a US raid in Syria, dealing a major blow to the militant group.

(More Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi stories.)

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