New Delhi: An Iraqi court has sentenced Asma Mohammed, one of the wives of the slain ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to death. She was charged for detaining Yazidi women, a judiciary spokesperson stated on Wednesday. Asma Mohammed was captured in Turkey and later extradited to Iraq. Reports revealed that she was sentenced by the Karkh criminal court in west Baghdad. The court found her guilty of collaborating with ISIS and locking up Yazidi women in her home.What are crimes of Asma MohammedAccording to the Supreme Judicial Council, Asma Mohammed held Yazidi women who were later abducted by ISIS fighters from the Sinjar district in northern Iraq. This brutal act was part of a larger campaign by ISIS to terrorize the Yazidi community.Who was Abu Bakr al-BaghdadiAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the former leader of ISIS, was killed by US troops in October 2019 during an operation in northwestern Syria. In 2014, al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate over parts of Syria and Iraq. During their rapid takeover of northern Iraq, ISIS militants specifically targeted the Yazidi community and killed thousands of men and enslaved women.Known as Caliph Ibrahim, al-Baghdadi had a $25 million bounty on his head. For five years, he was relentlessly hunted by the US and its allies due to his leadership of IS.At its height, ISIS controlled approximately 88,000 square kilometers (34,000 square miles) of land, which spanned from western Syria to eastern Iraq. Under al-Baghdadis command, the group imposed a harsh regime over nearly eight million people and gained wealth through oil sales, extortion, and kidnappings.Iraqi court prosecute ISIS members Iraqi courts have been actively prosecuting ISIS members for their roles in the terrorist groups activities. Hundreds of death sentences and life imprisonment terms have been handed down to those found guilty of being part of ISIS. This includes over 500 foreign men and women who joined the group.In February, Iraq announced the repatriation of al-Baghdadis family, including Asma Mohammed, from Turkey. This coincided with a broadcast interview on Al Arabiya TV channel, where she was identified as al-Baghdadis wife.Threat of ISISWhile US-backed forces declared victory over ISIS in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, remnants of the group still pose a threat. These factions continue to carry out attacks on civilians and security forces in both countries, underscoring the persistent danger of ISIS.
