Iraqi sentences 27 to death on Speicher killings charges

BAGHDAD - 8 August 2017: Iraq's Central Criminal Court sentenced 27 persons to death for their involvement in the killing of hundreds of soldiers outside Speicher air base in Tikrit.

Al Iraqiyah news channel cited Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council spokesman Abdel Sattar Bairaqdar as saying that the court acquitted 25 others due to lack of evidence, stating that the death rulings are preliminary and could be appealed at the Court of Cassation.

Last August, the Iraqi authorities sentenced 36 convicts to death for involvement in the same case.

In June 2014, armed men affiliated to Daesh terrorist group took control over Tikrit and killed 1700 soldiers and trainees in Speicher air base.