Six Iraqis were executed today, while another five were killed in other violence. Fourteen more were wounded as well. Also, a U.S. citizen of Palestinian descent has been sentenced to life in prison in Iraq.
Omar Rashad Khalil, an architectural engineer who entered Iraq in 2001, was found guilty on charges of assisting al-Qaeda and rendering financial support. According to the Interior Ministry, Khalil confessed to receiving money for use in terrorist activities. The U.S. embassy said they were aware of the case but referred questions to Khalil’s lawyer and local authorities.
Six people were executed after being found guilty on terrorism charges. These deaths bring the number of known executions to 102 this year. Although their names were not released, authorities did say that one of the men had recently escaped from Tikrit prison. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have criticized the death penalty and called on Iraq to stop enforcing it. By February, Iraqi authorities had carried out more death sentences than they had in 2011. The total number last year was 68 executions.
Meanwhile, at least five Iraqis were killed and 14 more were wounded in other violence.
In Baghdad, a bomb killed five people and wounded 13 more as a foreign security convoy traveled through the Mansour district.
A man was injured during a knife attack in Hilla.
