Iraqi court sentences Belgian to death as ISIS senior fighter

Iraq’s Central Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced a Belgian to death by hanging as a senior foreign fighter for Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), Reuters reports. Tarek Jadaoun, 30, also known as Abu Hamza al-Beljiki, joined the militant group in 2014 and was arrested in Mosul last summer. He has featured prominently in the group’s propaganda videos, which threatened attacks on European soil. “Al-Beljiki, who is of Moroccan origin, is one of the most wanted foreign fighters who fought on behalf of the terrorist organization in Syria and Iraq,” said Judge Abdul-Sattar al-Birqdar, the spokesman for the Supreme Judicial Council. Baghdad is conducting the trials of hundreds of suspected members of IS, many of whom were arrested as the group’s strongholds crumbled throughout Iraq. This includes hundreds of foreigners.