In Iraq, the death sentences have been carried out for three people convicted of their involvement in a bomb attack in Baghdad in 2016, the British public broadcaster ‘BBC’ reports. The attack killed more than 300 people and injured hundreds.
It was the deadliest bomb attack in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. The Sunni terrorist group Islamic State (IS) took responsibility for the bloody attack at the time.
The death sentence was carried out by hanging. The names of those executed have not been disclosed by the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. It is also unknown when the three were sentenced. The executions took place on Sunday and Monday, a statement said. According to the French news agency ‘AFP’, Ghazwan al-Zawbaee, who is seen as the mastermind behind the attack, was among the dead.
Afterwards, the families of the victims of the 2016 bombing were informed that “justifiable death sentences” had been carried out against “three leading criminals found guilty of their involvement in the terrorist bombings,” a government statement said.
Many of the victims were killed by a fire that broke out in the building after the bomb attack
Busy mall
On July 3, 2016, a vehicle filled with explosives was blown up next to a busy shopping center in Karrada, a mainly Shia Muslim neighborhood in the Iraqi capital. Many people were enjoying a night out at that time to celebrate the end of Ramadan.
Difference between Sunni and Shia
The origin of the two schools of thought within Islam stems from a difference of opinion about the succession of the prophet Mohammed. When he died, the community was divided. Shiites believe descendants of Muhammad should lead the community. Sunnis – now the largest group worldwide – did not necessarily want to appoint a family member but a pious and wise person as leader.
Many of the victims were killed by a fire that broke out in the building after the bomb attack. At the time, the then Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, accused al-Zawbaee of being the “main culprit” behind this attack.
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