Iraqi forces arrest former ISIS judge disguised as a woman
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi forces announced on Friday that they arrested a man wearing a disguise of women's clothing who is alleged to have sentenced multiple Iraqis to death while previously acting as a criminal judge for the Islamic State.
“A force from the Qayyara police station… based on accurate information and cooperation of citizens, arrested a Da’esh [Islamic State] element wearing women’s clothes (a black Abaya),” said Ministry of Interior Spokesperson Major General Saad Maan in a statement. He added that they arrested the suspect in the abandoned village of Ach’hla, located south of Mosul in the northern province of Nineveh.
Maan further explained that the detainee “was working in the so-called Sharia Court of Da’esh,” which has been responsible for issuing “death sentences against many citizens and members of the security services” when the Islamic State controlled much of the province.
In late February, the ministry announced that they had killed another man who served as a judge for the Islamic State in the disputed province of Kirkuk.
According to the ministry, Meizer Hadi Abbas al-Jawali held several positions in the jihadist organization, the last of which was "the judge of the Rashad district" in the embattled city of Hawija.
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Despite Iraq declaring a “final victory” against the extremist group in December 2017, it continues to carry out sporadic attacks which include bombings, assassinations, and kidnappings in previously liberated areas like Mosul and also in areas it never controlled such as Baghdad.
The situation in Nineveh has been particularly serious as the central and local governments have yet to facilitate the return of hundreds of thousands displaced by the Islamic State, to rebuild and provide basic services, or even to effectively recover the bodies of civilians that remain under the ruins of Mosul, the provincial capital.
Editing by John J. Catherine