Iraq sentences 4 to life over Baghdad airport attack

The Karkh Criminal Court in Iraq has sentenced four people to life over an attack that targeted Baghdad airport earlier this year and caused damages to two civilian planes, the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council said yesterday.

The incident took place on 28 January, when missiles were fired on Baghdad International Airport causing material damage to a runway and two empty planes that were on the airport grounds, the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority reported at the time.

The ruling was issued according to Article 4 of the 2005 Counter-Terrorism Law, which stipulates that anyone found guilty of committing a terror offense is given the death sentence, with life imprisonment given to those who assist or hide those convicted of terrorism.

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This is the first verdict issued in a case related to attacks on the airport and sites that house foreign forces in Iraq.

Dozens of missile and drone attacks have targeted Iraqi military bases housing foreign troops fighting within the international anti-Daesh coalition since the assassination by the US of Commander of the Iranian Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, near Baghdad airport in January 2020.

No party has claimed responsibility for the attacks; however Washington often blames pro-Iran groups for such rocket fire.