Iraqi court issues death sentences for two convicted in Baghdad and Karbala bombings

BAGHDAD — The Central Criminal Court on Monday sentenced two men to death after convicting them of carrying out car bomb attacks in Baghdad and Karbala, according to a statement from the court.

The first convict was found guilty of detonating a car bomb in Baghdad’s Al-Shurta Al-Rabi’a area in 2015, an attack that killed and injured several civilians, the court said.

The second individual was convicted of orchestrating two car bombings in Karbala in 2012 that caused the deaths and injuries of civilians, security personnel, and staff members of the Imam Hussein shrine.

Both men were sentenced under Article 4(1), with reference to Articles 2(1), 3, 5, and 7 of Iraq’s Anti-Terrorism Law No. 13 of 2005.

The convictions follow an uptick in similar rulings in recent months. In October, the Muthanna Criminal Court sentenced a man to death for carrying out a double car bombing in Rumaitha district’s industrial area in 2013.

In late September, the Kirkuk Criminal Court sentenced a man to death for involvement in the 2014 assassination of the deputy head of the Kirkuk Appeals Court and several security personnel.

In July, the Basra Criminal Court sentenced a man to death for participating in a 2011 bombing that killed 19 people and wounded 47 others.