BAGHDAD: An Iraqi court on Thursday sentenced a Daesh group member to death after convicting him of involvement in a 2014 suicide bombing that killed 17 pilgrims, the judiciary said.
The attack in Taji district north of Baghdad targeted a “mawkeb,” one of the many stalls providing free food and drinks to pilgrims during Shiite Muslim festivals.
The pilgrims had been heading on foot to Samarra, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad, to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Hassan Al-Askari, one of 12 imams revered by Iraq’s Shiite majority.
A criminal court in Baghdad on Thursday sentenced “a terrorist to death for the explosion of a mawkeb in 2014” during the pilgrimage in Samarra, the judiciary said on its website.
The statement did not name the convict but said he had “filmed the tragedy because he was a member of the terrorist groups of Daesh,” using the Arabic acronym for Daesh.
The convict has the right to appeal the verdict.
After rapidly taking over large swathes of territory in Iraq and neighboring Syria, Daesh saw its self-proclaimed “caliphate” collapse under successive offensives in both countries.
Iraqi authorities declared “victory” over the Sunni Muslim extremist group at the end of 2017, but militant cells continue to sporadically launch attacks, particularly on military and police personnel in remote areas of central and northern Iraq.
In late August, three people were hanged in Iraq after being convicted over an Daesh attack that killed 323 people in Baghdad in July 2016.
Amnesty International said Iraq was the world’s sixth biggest executioner last year, with at least 11 carried out.
More than 41 death sentences were issued in 2022, and more than 45 people were executed in 2020, according to the London-based human rights group.
Iraq sentences Daesh member to death over pilgrim bombing
https://arab.news/6tdc4
Iraq sentences Daesh member to death over pilgrim bombing
- A criminal court sentenced “a terrorist to death for the explosion of a mawkeb in 2014” during the pilgrimage in Samarra
- The convict had “filmed the tragedy because he was a member of the terrorist groups of Daesh”
Lebanon’s south could become US-backed economic zone, according to local paper Nidaa Al-Watan
- Lebanese daily quotes sources as saying the US plan casts southern Lebanon as a key gateway for broader economic transformation
- White House fails to respond to Arab News’ request for comment
LONDON: Lebanese daily Nidaa Al-Watan has reported that the office of Jared Kushner, son-in-law and senior adviser to US President Donald Trump, has prepared detailed maps for a so‑called “Trump Economic Zone” in southern Lebanon.
According to columnist Tarek Abou Zeinab, the Kushner plan has been formally submitted to the White House for consideration.
Citing unnamed sources, the column said that the idea is no longer just a “whispered” concept among political circles but has entered what it described as “concrete border‑related discussions aimed at fast‑tracking the plan onto the US administration’s Middle East implementation agenda.”
Arab News asked the US Embassy in Beirut and the US State Department for comment, but was directed to the White House for any official response. The White House was subsequently contacted but has not responded.
Lebanon has been mired in prolonged political paralysis. Large parts of the south remain under Hezbollah’s influence, while Israel illegally occupies at least five outposts along the border that are within Lebanese sovereign land.
According to Nidaa Al‑Watan’s sources, the US concept frames southern Lebanon as a key gateway for a wider economic transformation, tying large‑scale investment and infrastructure projects to security arrangements on the ground.
The reported plan would seek to attract international capital, establish factories and logistics hubs, upgrade infrastructure, and build a port connected to global shipping routes.
Its aim, according to the column, would be to open new export channels through a free‑zone model and lure major energy companies by linking southern Lebanon to wider schemes such as the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor.
Supporters of the plan argue it could trigger large Arab and international investments, raise living standards and create long‑term jobs, thereby lowering the risk of renewed conflict.
However, Lebanese political and media sources quoted by the daily have warned that the proposal follows a new “hegemonic” approach and carries major political implications that cannot be ignored.
The critics say the reported US vision goes beyond development to include the establishment of Jewish settlements in parts of southern Lebanon, justified on religious and security grounds to protect northern Israel.
One source expressed concern that such moves would create a geographic and symbolic link between Israel and southern Lebanon, deepening fears over sovereignty and the region’s future political trajectory.
The paper said Kushner is focussed on areas stretching from Mount Hermon to Shebaa and Naqoura in the far south at a time when Israel has been pressing for a buffer zone along the border, citing security concerns since the end of major clashes with Hezbollah in November 2024.
The proposed zone would cover more than 27 southern towns, raising questions over Lebanese sovereignty.
In parallel, the Lebanese army has been tasked with bringing all weapons under state control and asserting government authority in areas long dominated by Hezbollah, as part of a broader disarmament and security plan.
Despite a ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out attacks inside Lebanese territory and maintains control over parts of the south, saying the measures are necessary for security.
Lebanese and Israeli delegations held talks in Naqoura earlier in December to shore up the ceasefire and discuss reconstruction in the south.
